The Honeyglow Surge
by Arcade Lackey
Summary: Sequel to 'A Sudden Surge'. As of chapter 80: With Adrenaline Rush just plugged in, the gang decides it's time to awaken Candice. In a twist, with it comes not only the parents of every default Sugar Rush racer, but also another Ralph and Felix.. Not only that, but Litwak gets a surprise when the owner of TobiKomi pays a visit. Contains Ralph/Older!Vanellope and other pairings.
1. It's a Slice of Life

**Author's Note:** Welcome to the genre-shifted sequel of my first story, 'A Sudden Surge'! Rather than doing **just** straight up romance, which there is **plenty** of in this story, I decided to also give this story a full set of events going on for each day shown. This means that it centers around the six (and much later on, seven) main pairings from when they wake up, to when they go to sleep, usually ignoring the arcade's open hours except when it's plot relevant. In this time they get to know each other, do various activities, and in general just enjoy each other's presence.

There won't be very much action for the most part, but it's there from time to time. I understand that you're probably originally here exclusively for Ralph/Vannie and Felix/Calhoun, but I can almost completely assure you that if you give these other pairings a chance, you'll come to love them.

Pairings: Ralph/Vannie, Jet/Crumbelina, Rancis/Taffyta, Felix/Calhoun, Leon Markowski/Minty Angelcake (Candlehead), Garret Spears/Jubileena. Garret is mostly an OC, but he exists in the Hero's Duty interactive comic, so not quite.

**Eventually**, each of these pairings will get married.

Keep in mind that the racers listed here are from Sugar Rush 2 (they're all 19 years old).

* * *

"Did you see Litwak's face when he saw the highscores were still up?!" Ralph said with an excited laugh. _His face was priceless. _They were in their game, Fix-It Felix Jr.

"Jiminy jaminy, it was priceless!" Felix said before joining in on the laughter, "The poor man almost had a heart attack!" _I'm glad he didn't though! That would have been bad.._

"Ah man.." Ralph said before taking a deep breath, "It's nice to see the old man still cares. It's been a long time since he played our game.."

"Yeah.. It happens to the best of us.." Felix said with a sigh, "So.. You and **Vannie**, huh?" He made that same cheesy grin he loved so much. _You're gonna have to tell me all about __her__ eventually, brother._

"Yeah.." Ralph said as he leaned against the front wall of the apartment building, "It's almost like a dream.. I was such an idiot for a while there, not seeing what's important." _I still can't believe how much of an idiot I was.._

"Sounds like you've got a story there, brother," Felix said with a curious grin as he too leaned against the wall, "Care to tell me about it?" _This is the part I've been wanting to hear!_

"Ahh, it's not really worth telling.." Ralph said dismissively, "I was just having a hard time seeing the two of them as separate people at first.." _Well obviously I knew they weren't the __**same**__ person.. I just couldn't date Vannie and still look Vanellope in the eye. It would have been too weird, at least that's what I thought at the time._

"Well that's somewhat understandable, Ralph," Felix said, "I mean, they are **really** similar. Vannie was based off of the original, after all." _I can't say that I would have had that problem. They may look alike, but they're not the **same** person._

"I still have to apologize to her about that," Ralph said as he looked out past the game screen in the sky, not really seeing much from that angle, "I owe her a lunch as well." He chuckled warmly. "On **that** note, I gotta go.." He made his way toward the railway leading out of Fix-It Felix Jr. _Hopefully I can figure out how I'm going to tell her by the time I get there.._

"What about the party, Ralph?" Felix asked hopefully, "It starts in about an hour, you know?"

"Sorry Felix," Ralph said, "You understand, right? Just save me a slice, will ya?"

"Sure thing, brother," Felix said under his breath disappointedly watching as his best friend went see his girlfriend, "Oh! I wonder what Tammy is up to about now.." He skipped off behind Ralph and headed to Hero's Duty. _There's plenty time for the party later. Here I come, Tammy!_

* * *

In Sugar Rush 2, moments before that day's Random Roster Race took place.

"You ready for the Random Roster Race, Jet?" Crumbelina asked. She and Jet were sitting in the stands watching the races of the day, since neither of them won the previous day's Random Roster Race. Jet was too late to even **attend**, much to his disappointment. Unlike her Sugar Rush counterpart, she had curly, medium length brown hair rather than it being curled up in buns.

"I was **born** ready.." Jet said tentatively, "Is what I would like to say, but it's been decades since I've done any actual racing.." He was visibly nervous, and still not quite used to his new look. King Candy had gone above and beyond his request for his outfit and appearance, though he couldn't for the life of him understand why. Rather than a simple recolor like he expected, he looked quite different from any of the other racers. His face was a bit thinner, and younger than he was used to, about 20 years old he guessed. His skin was no longer grey, and his teeth and eyes were no longer yellow, of course. His helmet, surprisingly enough, was untouched, still being blue with a white stripe down the middle. It was something he was thankful for, as it reminded him of his old game, Turbo Time. He didn't wear his helmet when he wasn't racing, however, much like the other racers. He preferred to let his short, unruly brown hair breathe. As he requested, his outfit was blue, much the same color as his old jumpsuit, but instead it consisted of a racing jacket with the initials JC on the back in yellow stylized letters, with a white t-shirt underneath. His pants were blue, about what you would expect, matching nicely with his jacket.

"Oh, it'll be fine," Crumbelina said dismissively, "Once a racer, **always** a racer."

"I wanted to thank you.." Jet said earnestly, "For being so nice to me.. Everyone else is still a bit wary of me. But with good reason, I guess." _Jet, destroyer of worlds, ladies and gentlemen._ _I'm surprised __she__ is even talking to me knowing what I've done._

"Well, the way **I** see it, you must have earned your second chance," Crumbelina said plainly, "Otherwise you wouldn't be here, right?"

"I wonder if it's really like that," Jet said while staring out at the race track. _Cooperation and a sob story won't bring those four games back._

"Come on, it's about time we got ready.." Crumbelina said as she stood up and dusted off the back of her skirt. _Well he does seem to regret what he did. Maybe he actually is a good person now?_

"Alright.." Jet said as he stood up. The two went to the garage near the starting line of the racetrack and entered the codes for their karts, then lined them up alongside the rest of the racers. Jet's kart was milk chocolate colored in the front, somewhat resembling a chocolate bar, with the back being the same deep blue color as his outfit with a yellow trim and interior.

All of the racers tossed their coins into the giant 'Winner's Cup' one after another as a voice announced their names.

"Good luck, Jet!" Crumbelina said cheerfully as she hopped into her kart.

"You too!" Jet said with a smile as he hopped into his kart and put his helmet on. _How many years have I waited for a moment like this? All those years it was always something else. Collect this, Destroy that.. Sure those games were fun and everything, but it's not what I was programmed to do. It's **this**.. I finally have a chance to race again.._ He tightly gripped the pretzel steering wheel of his kart in anticipation.

Ralph, just in time, sat down in the stands before the Random Roster Race started. _I would definitely regret it somehow if I missed Vannie racing. It's too bad I can't watch Vanellope's race too. I really need to talk to King Candy, well either one of them, about changing the times they have these races so I can see both._

Vannie looked over to Ralph with a smile and waved before hopping into her kart. Her hair was much like Vanellope's, candy decorations included, but it was much longer in the back. Everything about her outfit was identical to Vanellope's, just resized to fit a 19 year old whose head reached up to Ralph's chest. Her kart had teal frosting over what was meant to resemble a sugar cookie while still being kart-shaped. It had lots of white star-shaped sprinkles and the interior was all white, complete with marshmallow seats. _Glad he showed up._ _Now I absolutely can't lose._

"My sweet subjects!" King Candy said excitedly over the speakers from his announcer seat, "I can without a pinch of hesitation assure you that I have never been so happy in all my life to say the following words! Let the Random Roster Race commence!" He pulled a lever which made a purple carpet roll out, forming a slide, which he excitedly rode down to his kart.

A marshmallow race attendant floated down holding a traffic light which signaled the start of the race. _It's a living._

The racers were off! Vannie was off to a bit of a slow start, at a steady 4th place, just barely behind Taffyta.

Taffyta scoffed as she continued to stay right in front of Vannie. _Sorry Vannie, I'm going to win this time._

Jet was in 6th, just behind Jubileena. He slowly passed Jubileena at the first turn. She was the one person he wanted to beat in this race for sure, as she was the one who trapped him before which resulted in him getting caught, not that he wasn't happy with the way things turned out. Vannie managed to pass Taffyta, though Candlehead and King Candy held a healthy lead above the rest.

King Candy picked up a power-up, the Ice Cream Cannon, and fired it behind him. Vannie narrowly avoided getting hit by it, but Taffyta wasn't so lucky, putting her behind quite a bit as she waited a few seconds for her kart to respawn. Vannie also picked up a power-up, it was one of her favorites, 'Sugar Rush'. She sped ahead a great speed, passing Candlehead and catching up to King Candy.

Jet almost missed it, but he managed to grab the final power-up floating in that section of the race. It was a Sweet Seeker. At least **now** he was familiar with how the karts worked, so he didn't have to guess how to activate it. It shot three homing projectiles ahead of him, hitting Candlehead, Vannie, and King Candy.

"Sorry!" Jet yelled excitedly as he waved and passed them by as he drove onto the ice cream themed portion of the track. _At this rate I might actually win!_

Taffyta regained 3rd place, narrowly passing Crumbelina and said, "Maybe next time." _Just a bit more.._

They came to another section with power-ups, but Crumbelina instead opted to use the speed stripes on the side of the track to speed ahead regaining 3rd, and made some headway in catching up with Jubileena who was now in 2nd, much to Taffyta's dismay. Taffyta used the power-up she grabbed, Sticky Slick, which made King Candy fall further back to 7th, though Vannie and Candlehead managed to avoid it, with much cheering from Ralph as he watched on the Jumbotron.

Vannie used the speed stripes, while Candlehead grabbed a Sugar Rush power-up and pulled ahead past Taffyta, reaching 4th place.

In the end though, Vannie narrowly won after a few lucky breaks with power-ups, followed by Crumbelina, Jet, Candlehead, Jubileena, Taffyta, King Candy, Rancis, and Swizzle.

* * *

**Author's Note:** That race was fun to write, but it was getting a bit long xD. And Jet seems to continue the trend of always coming in third, haha. Don't be shy about sharing your opinion ;). I don't like to make the point of mentioning it, but reviews are one of my biggest motivators.

On occasion I write an M-rated love-making scene for this story. Those get uploaded to a separate story called 'Honeyglows With Lemon'. There are three such scenes total so far, though that may well change soon.

Current profile poll (as of September 14th): After reading the two oneshots 'Sugar Rush: Version 2' and 'Wrecking Man', which do you want to see continued more?


	2. Jet's Past

All was going well in Hero's Duty. Well, about as well as you can expect from a game about climbing a building and destroying nearly endless hordes of bugs. The regular players who went to the arcade specifically to play Hero's Duty definitely noticed a difference. It was a welcome change for them, that Markowski was no longer as much of a screaming idiot. They could finally make it to the top of the building with him. They didn't know for sure, but they did wonder if maybe the game had an update of some kind.

"Nice going out there Markowski," Spears said as he lightly punched him on the shoulder in jest. _I hope you're not still mad about how we treated you.. Well technically it was **Jet** and **Set**, but I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing anyway without knowing the circumstances.._ As a soldier, Spears was naturally physically fit, and he had a blond crew cut. _Come to think of it, how did **Set** not fall out of my armor before? The guy was short and scrawny if his twin brother is anything to go by, which it **should** be.. I hope Sarge knows what she's doing letting that guy free.._

"It's nice to be back in top form after all that time.." Markowski said in a satisfied tone, "So uh.. You want to head over to Sugar Rush 2 by any chance? Tapper's is **great** and all, but you know what I mean.." He scratched the back of his shaven head. _I'd really like to see her again.. I'm pretty you've got the same thing in mind, Spears..  
_

"Now **that** sounds like a plan," Spears said wryly, "I don't think **Jubileena** likes you too much though." He laughed and shook his head. _Well you're probably not interested in Jubileena anyway._

Markowski shrugged. _Well it's my fault for not asking their names when we first met.. I'm more interested in 'Candlehead' anyways. I wish they would use her name more often.. Minty is such a beautiful name.._

"Hey fellas!" Felix said cheerfully as he hopped in. The soldiers were completely used to Felix coming in by now. The hopping sounds gave him away instantly.

"Hey Felix!" Spears said, "Sarge is just over there at the tower, can't miss her." _Every day, without fail. How he keeps up with her is beyond me, but it's a good thing._

"Why, thank you," Felix said cheerfully, "So I take it everything is going well on your end?"

"Affirmative," Markowski said, "Couldn't be better." _Well, maybe it could be a bit better.._

"Well, I hate to run," Felix said cheerfully as he ever so slightly inched away from the two, "But I don't want to keep Tammy waiting."

"No worries, Felix," Spears said reassuringly, "Markowski and I here were just about to head out." _I wonder how I should ask her out. I guess our intention of dating them will be sort of obvious, so.. Hmm.. I'll think about it on the way there, I guess._

Markowski and Spears left Hero's Duty and took the train to Sugar Rush 2. Before, it was a short kart ride to get inside, but due to a complaint from Marco, a fellow soldier, it was remodeled by a team of Surges into a train. How Marco flipped over his kart was beyond them.

They got there as the Random Roster Race was halfway over. It was too late to find seats in the stands it would seem, not that they had a great deal of interest in the race itself. They simply stood far enough out of the way while still getting a good view of the jumbotron. Before long the race had ended.

"That Jet guy got third place," Spears said indifferently, "Well, I'll give it to him, he knows how to race.." _Why I'm not still mad at the guy is beyond me.. I guess it was the way Sarge explained it, I don't know.. But at least he's keeping his neck out of trouble, by the looks of it. It's not like he knows how to hijack games anymore anyways._

"**Had** to be luck though," Markowski said as he shook his head, "Those power-up things are a real game changer." He was a little more interested in the race than Spears was, but he was mostly focused on Candlehead. _Minty almost won. She would have if not for that power-up in the last few seconds. Fourth place is still good though_.

As the last of the racers finished, Markowski and Spears headed over to talk to Candlehead and Jubileena.

Vannie ran over to where Ralph was sitting in the stands and looked up at him. "Hey Ralphie, glad you made it!" she said excitedly, still on her racer's high from winning the race.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Ralph said warmly as he stood up and stretched in place. _Well technically I could have also gone to Vanellope's race, but I'd have missed part of __**her **__race anyway since I'd have to go to Game Station East first. Probably best if I don't say that._ Once enough people were out of the way, he jumped down from the stands, which made the ground tremble slightly.

"No Vanellope?" Vannie asked as she cocked her brow. _I thought for sure she'd come too. Then again I've only known them for a day, so maybe it's normal that they're not around each other **all** the time.._

"Nah, she's got races too," Ralph said with a sigh, before an edge of nervousness pierced his words, "Besides.. I kind of owe you lunch with just the two of us, don't I?" _It's going to take some getting used to, talking like this.. At least I didn't stumble over my words_.

"Yes, you **do**!" Vannie beamed, "So where do you plan to go?" She crossed her arms. _There's a **lot** of places here I haven't been yet.._

"Plan? Oh.. Well I've not really made any plans or anything.." Ralph said nervously as he scratched the side of his neck._ Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life? Well, no probably not.. I should have made plans apparently.._

"Right, right," Vannie said as she rolled her eyes. _I wasn't expecting you to plan anything out anyways. I know what kind of guy you are, don't worry._ "Okay, well how about my place? It would be easier to talk there, right?.." _Dad went see the other King Candy so we should have the place mostly to ourselves._

"Extravagant castle? Sure, why not," Ralph said wryly. _Just as long as I don't have to see that machine again.. There's no way in hell I'm letting that thing dress me again. Whose idea was it to make a machine like that in the first place? Well at least the food is good. Best food I've ever had in fact._ With that they drove to the castle in Vannie's kart, with Ralph's feet planted firmly in the back seats for stability so he didn't fall off the back. These karts were larger than the ones in the original Sugar Rush by default, having four seats rather than one. _Glad I don't have to worry so much about falling off of **these** karts._

* * *

Still at the finish line of the race, Jet and Crumbelina were congratulating each other on making it on the roster.

"See? I **told** you," Crumbelina said with a grin as she crossed her arms, "Once a racer, **always** a racer." _You're getting too nervous. Nobody is going to do you anything.._

"Yeah, well, luck definitely had **something** to do with it," Jet said with a nervous laugh, "It feels great though. I haven't been this pumped in years.. It's been way too long.."_ She has a beautiful smile.. I shouldn't be thinking about this. I don't stand a chance in Dragon's Lair._

"I was wondering," Crumbelina said as she hopped back into her kart, "I know this is a sensitive subject for you, but if you missed racing so much.. Why didn't you take over the other Sugar Rush?" _Not that taking over games is a good thing. But still.._

"Honestly?.." Jet said nervously, "My brother and I figured that we would stay **away** from racing games.. I'm sure you must have heard about Turbo by now." _I wonder why she's talking about taking over games so casually.. That's a bit weird, isn't it?_

"No, I haven't really heard anything about Turbo," Crumbelina said with a slight frown as she patted the passenger seat next to her, "Hop in, you can tell me about it on the way to my mom's cafe." _I should keep him company. It seems like the other racers are avoiding him. Someone has to make him feel welcome in his new home and so far I'm the most suited for it._

Jet's heart skipped a beat as he hesitantly did what he was told._ Why am I getting my hopes up? She's just being nice.._ "Okay, well this started a long time ago, way back in the year 1987.." he explained seriously as Crumbelina drove them towards her mother's cafe, "That was when this new game got plugged called RoadBlasters. It was put right across from my old game, Turbo Time." _I don't even know if those guys made it out alive. I've never even seen them.._

"Go on.." Crumbelina said while concentrating both on Jet's story and the track she was driving on. _I'm following.._

"Well, it was another racing game.. sort of. It was superior in pretty much **every** way," Jet said, "Once people played RoadBlasters, they didn't really have any interest in going back to our game, especially since Turbo was letting his feelings affect gameplay.. He just wasn't as good as he usually was and wasn't winning as often.. So it became increasingly unpopular, despite being by far the most popular before.." _Why did Litwak have to put it right in front of our cabinet? He should have known better than that.._

"Oh no.." Crumbelina said in a sympathetic tone. _I hope we aren't doing the same thing to the other Sugar Rush.. Then again there are a couple of other racing games in the arcade already from what I hear.._

"So anyways, **Turbo**, he was the player's avatar by the way.. He got hold of a way to let us modify game files and left," Jet said as he clenched his fist which was hanging over the side of Crumbelina's kart, "From that moment Set and I knew for certain that our game was going to be unplugged. It was very different from this game where you can choose a racer. Without Turbo, our game was **completely** unplayable. He didn't like us much, but we didn't like him either. He was sort of like family though, I guess, so he gave Set and I the means to do the same in other games." _Even now I wonder why he did that.._

"And that's when you started controlling people.." Crumbelina said pointedly. _Yeah, you told me that part earlier while watching the day's races.. Jubileena told me before I even met you too.. But I guess she didn't know about this Turbo guy.._

"Right.." Jet said solemnly, "Long story short, Turbo was a racer. We figured that the best course of action to stay out of **his** way would be to avoid racing games altogether. We didn't want any unnecessary conflict.. Though I guess **hijacking** **games** wasn't exactly necessary either.. But it beat being homeless.." _I wish we would have at least stuck to just one game.._

"So.. **Controlling** **people**.. You don't plan on doing anything like that again, do you?" Crumbelina asked hesitantly. _He's going to say no, of course. But depending on how he says it makes all the difference._

"I don't plan on it, no.." Jet said with a sigh as he rested his head on his arm which was now propped up against the side of the kart, "I'm satisfied with how things are now, after all. Not only that, but I don't even remember how to do it thanks to King Candy. Besides, it feels weird having another character's thoughts swimming around in your head. Compared to back then, this almost feels like a dream." _Why did I say it like that? It's true, but that made it sound almost as if I did it for the hell of it until I found the right one.. _Crumbelina pinched his arm. "Ouch!"

"Still think it's a dream?" Crumbelina asked in an annoyed tone. _What the hell kind of answer is that? Maybe he's not a good guy.. I'll at least have lunch with him, it's not like I can back out of it now.. Besides, he probably needs a friend after all that.._

"Well, I didn't mean it literally," Jet said with a somber laugh and rubbed his arm, "I'm surprised you didn't kick me out of your kart, to be honest. Most people wouldn't want anything to do with someone like me.." _Why are you being so casual about it? That pinch did hurt a lot though.._

"I wouldn't do that.." Crumbelina said seriously, "It's not that I fully trust you or anything. Especially not after **that** answer.. But it sounds to me like you're harmless. So what's the point of getting all bent out of shape?" _At least you understand the gravity of what you did. Even if just in expectation of how people might treat you.._

"I wish more people could see things that way," Jet said seriously, "You're not worried the other racers will pick on you for hanging out with me?" _I saw the other racers staring at us when we were getting ready for the race. I don't know if you noticed.. They're probably mad at me for taking a slot on the roster by getting third place too. That's one less of them that gets to race when the arcade opens.._

"They know better than that," Crumbelina said. _Will you make up your mind if you're a good guy or not already? Hijacking games isn't such a big deal, but how racers treat someone for talking to you is? _"Really the only one **you** have to watch out for is Taffyta. She's got a mean streak when it comes to people she doesn't like. It should be fine as long as you don't get on her bad side." _Well you probably would have to **try** to get on her bad side for that to happen though.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Felix and Calhoun are in the next chapter, I promise! Due to occasionally making longer scenes, not every pairing will be in every chapter. This is especially the case in later chapters, but in the long run it makes each scene flow better.


	3. Pairings

"Hey short stack," Calhoun said wryly as she holstered her 'Multi-Mode Rifle' on her back before it promptly disappeared, "Glad you could make it. Figured you would be getting ready for a **party** about now." Just behind her was the 99 level tower which housed the all-powerful beacon, as well as the much-desired Medal of Heroes.

"Shucks, I lost track of how many parties we've had," Felix said dismissively with a grin as he listed the usual events on his fingers, "It's always the same thing, really. Pac-Man eats all the food, Ralph comes grab a slice of cake that was saved for him and chats for a while, and Mario comes along fashionably late just as it's time for everybody to leave.."

"Sounds like fun to me," Calhoun said wryly, "So what would you prefer?"

"Well golly, I don't _know_!" Felix said cheerfully as he placed his hand on his chin in thought, "That's why I'm here, I guess. When I'm with you _**everything's**_ a blast. Sometimes literally!" They laughed.

"Well I'm happy you feel that way, short stack" Calhoun said as she bent down to kiss him. _I feel the same way._

Felix chuckled sheepishly and said, "Oh! That reminds me I was going to tell you about that weird dream I had when we were back in the code room!" _It's weird how I seem to remember it as if it really happened._

"Yes, you did say something about that, didn't you.." Calhoun said as she leaned against part of the bridge leading to the tower.

"Right! It was when you did that thing with my memory files and I passed out," Felix recalled as he waved his hands around, "It was like I had woken up back on the night of Fix-It Felix Jr.'s 30th anniversary, Ralph and I were standing outside the penthouse when he came to get in on the party that the others hadn't invited him to. I think I still owe Ralph an apology for that and other things.." _I'm glad Ralph forgave us all the same.._

"Oh yeah?" Calhoun said, mostly to acknowledge she was listening. _Yeah that was a pretty dick move, mostly on Gene's part._

"Well instead of going down the way it really had, he got so angry," Felix said sheepishly, "Well he did get mad that day, but it was later when Gene was antagonizing him.. It was around that time when I knew I was dreaming. It was crazy, it was like I was trapped, being pushed around with events moving in fast forward. I don't quite remember what Ralph said, but he indicated that him lashing out about not being invited to the party was what should have happened. Not that I would have especially blamed him now that I think about it."

"So where exactly do I fit in with all that?" Calhoun asked wryly. _I **should** have made an appearance.._

"Right, well Ralph picked me up by the back of my shirt and dropped me right back down and we were all suddenly here in Hero's Duty.." Felix said, "He said I'm all yours and walked off holding a Cy-bug in his hands and disappeared out the exit. You complimented my tiddlywinking and we followed him to Sugar Rush on your cruiser.." He chuckled. "You pushed me off into Nesquik Sand and jumped down yourself, and I thought for sure you'd give me a few good wallops. But you kissed me instead saying it was good enough that I remembered what really happened." _That was the best part._

"Aww, that's sweet," Calhoun said breaking out into a laugh, which made Felix laugh as well, though nervously.

"And then I fell through the Nesquik Sand into the Fungeon where Ralph came along and I fixed Vanellope's kart," Felix said, "I don't quite remember what happened after that, but it wasn't long before I woke up. It was the most vivid dream I ever had if I say so myself." _Thinking of Sugar Rush sure is getting me hungry.._

"It sounds like quite the ride," Calhoun said while cocking a brow. _I still feel bad about hitting him back then. Not like we had any choice though.  
_

"Now that I think about it.." Felix said, "Would you like to go eat out somewhere? It wouldn't be the end of the world if I missed **one** party."

"Well I think I can work that in," Calhoun said wryly, "Let me guess, Sugar Rush 2?" _It's the only option he's considering. Has to be.._

"Sometimes I think you know me** too** well," Felix said with a grin. _Ever since I went to Sugar Rush I've been addicted to sweets. Mary's pies and cakes are good, but I'm more or less sick of those after eating them every day for 30 years.. But golly, Sugar Rush! An entire world full of all sorts of candy I've never even heard of before.. Sugar Rush 2 has to have even more variety.._

"Alright, we may as well," Calhoun said wryly. _It's not like I don't like sweets.. But there had better be at least _**_some_**_ normal food there__ as well.._

* * *

"So what brings you two here again?" Jubileena asked wryly with her arms crossed as Markowski and Spears approached, "Not another bad guy I hope.." They were still at the finish line of the race. _I knew this was going to happen..  
_

"We came talk to our friends, that's all," Spears said with a smile. _We all know why we're here, right? Two guys coming visit two girls..  
_

"Yeah, nothing going on at all. So we figured we could hang out or something," Markowski said. _Just keep to Jubileena if you don't mind, Spears._

"Well, what do **you** say, Candlehead?" Jubileena asked wryly. _Alright, I may as well see where this takes us. It should be fine.. I would really rather not go out with Markowski though. Maybe I am a little too mean to him.. He's probably just an airhead. Candlehead would probably like him._

"That sounds great!" Candlehead said cheerfully, "I take it you were watching the race?" _I was hoping I'd get to see Leon again._

"Yeah, you would've won if Vanellope hadn't used that Sweet Seeker power-up thing," Markowski said. He wasn't 'in the know' about her nickname being Vannie, he was just going by the name on the roster.

"I know, right!" Candlehead said firmly, though a grin shone through, "I'll get her eventually. She's a tough one though.. I'm surprised King Candy did so badly today to be honest." _Him and Vannie are pretty much the two best racers in the game besides Jujube, Taffyta and I.._

"So did you have anything in particular in mind?" Jubileena asked.

"Well we've been pretty much everywhere by now," Spears said as he rubbed the side of his neck, "We were thinking of showing you around, wherever **you** wanna go." _We usually just ended up in Tapper's. Can't really bring her there though, right? It's not my fault that Set only wanted to go to Tapper's for the most part.  
_

"Oh, can we go check out the first Sugar Rush?!" Candlehead asked excitedly. _I want to see little Jubileena and I. Oh, and the others too! They must be **so** adorable._ Her face got red after everyone suddenly stared at her. "No?" _I thought it was a good idea.._

"Sounds interesting," Jubileena said as she patted Candlehead on the shoulder, "What do you two think?"_Of course they're going to agree. Just look at the glint in their eyes._

"You won't get any complaints out of me," Markowski said with a smile as he shrugged his shoulders, trying to act nonchalant. _That's one of the best options, isn't it?_

"Sounds to me like it's settled then," Spears said with a grin. _It could be pretty interesting seeing how they interact with their kid selves.. It'll be cute, right? It'd have to be cute.._

While talking about the race they went on their way to Sugar Rush.

* * *

Taffyta was blowing off some steam with Rancis at Sugar Beach. It was a beach.. made of sugar.. The perpetual sunrise of this particular area shone quite beautifully against the sugar saturated water.

"I can't believe we 'lost'!" Taffyta grumbled. She wanted to scream, but she held back, realizing somewhere in the back of her mind that it's not a big deal. "How did it happen?" She leaned back against the side of her kart. _Third place I can handle, but any worse than that and I almost might as well have not even made it on the roster._

"We were just unlucky that's all," Rancis said reassuringly, "Even King Candy had it rough today." _It's a good thing King Candy did about as bad as us, otherwise I'd be harder to pull her out of this.._

"Well of course it was luck!" Taffyta said with a sigh, "I'm just frustrated.." She took a deep breath to calm down. _I hate having tantrums like this.. Why can't I just stop that? It's a good thing Rancis is here, he always knows just what to say. Such a sweetie.._ "So what do you think about that new racer?" _He seems kind of dangerous.._

"Jet? Well.. I don't know much aside from what we were told.." Rancis said as he furrowed his brow in contemplation, "Crumbelina seems to get along with him just fine though, so maybe he's not such a bad guy.." _Honestly I don't know about that. It's not like I've met him yet or anything.._

"Good guys **don't** do what he did though.." Taffyta said pointedly, "I can understand not wanting to be homeless, but if you look at his track record, every game he's been in has been unplugged except for ours and Hero's Duty. And he hasn't had much time to do any damage here yet_._." _What are we going to do if he ends up getting our game unplugged_ too? She's mistaken about every game he's been in getting unplugged, of course.

"That's true.. but the circumstances are different here.." Rancis said, "For one thing, he isn't controlling somebody else right now. And he doesn't know how to take over games anymore from what we were told.." _Maybe I'd feel differently if he had done it to us from the start.._

"I guess.." Taffyta said reluctantly, "But really, I wonder what's going on in Crumbelina's mind.. being so friendly with him." _Crumbelina is taking a big chance.._

"You know how she is," Rancis said while he also leaned back on Taffyta's kart, "She's probably trying to help him fit in.. I think we should give him a chance.." _I don't want to ruin whatever it is Crumbelina is trying to do. She's got enough on her mind already.  
_

Taffyta sighed and said, "That's why I go out with you.." _It sounds reasonable enough to give him a chance._ She laughed and lightly punched him in the arm before leaning her head on his shoulder. _I hope this doesn't turn out badly.. Crumbelina I hope you know what you're doing.._

Rancis laughed and said, "I know." _I hope this is the right choice.. I'll never hear the end of it otherwise._

"Alright, we'll give him a chance.." Taffyta said. _King Candy is the one that made him a racer anyways. I'm sure he must have some kind of precautions in place._


	4. Getting It Off His Chest

"Your dad won't want to join us?" Ralph asked as Vannie parked her kart at the front of the castle. It was just as he remembered it.

It was an impressive castle built out of bricks of compressed sugar. Its interior was painted with 'salmon' colored frosting. The oreo guards were chanting their usual chant some distance away.

"Nah, he went out to see the other King Candy," Vannie said as the two went inside. _Should I just call him Dad too?_ "He said something about showing him a thing or two about coding. You should have seen him go at it earlier. I didn't quite get it, but he made it so that we don't have to worry about merging with other characters anymore."

"Well that's a relief," Ralph said pointedly. _I'm glad I don't have to worry about that happening again. What if we were in another game and didn't know where to find the code room? And of course they might not have even let us use it.. Then again we could have just come back here.  
_

Vannie went to the kitchen to ask Spicy Jill to cook them a meal. Ralph just sat at the end of the mahogany table in the dining room in the same mahogany chair he used last time he was there. He scratched his neck, then twiddled his thumbs. _What is it with this place and high ceilings? Must be a rich people thing. At least I don't have to worry about bumping my head.. Now how am I going to apologize to her? Now would be the best time.. No matter how I look at it this might end in disaster.._

"It'll be a while she says," Vannie said warmly as she entered the dining room and sat down in the closest chair next to Ralph. The table was quite long, but she saw no good in making use of that length. Ralph sighed. "What's up?" _Please don't let this be bad news..__ That face doesn't inspire confidence, Ralph.._

"It's just that.. This is really the only time we've had a chance to talk with just the two of us since we were on the monorail.." Ralph said hesitantly. _Didn't I leave her nearly in tears the last time we were alone together? About the same thing even.. I hope she doesn't end up breaking up with me over this. I just can't go on without apologizing.._

Vannie tensed up. _What am I supposed to say to that? I don't even want to think about that. Why'd you have to bring that up? You're not breaking up with me are you? You'd better not do this to me.. We haven't really even gone out or anything yet.. He's breaking up with me isn't he?_

"I need to apologize.." Ralph said solemnly, "I need to apologize for how I treated you on the monorail when we were heading to Vanellope's game before.. I was happy that you feel the way you do. It was a shock, really, for someone like me. But somehow I felt like I knew it was coming." _Please don't hate me for saying this.._

Vannie's heart skipped a few beats as he continued talking. _Don't do it.._

"To be honest," Ralph said as he briefly scratched his neck, "I wanted nothing more than to jump up and agree the instant you asked me out.. But I just thought that.. You know, Vanellope depends on me.. and I thought that I couldn't look her in the eye if we were going out."

"But it's different now, right?" Vannie asked hesitantly. _Please say yes.._

"Yes.. I had time to think while I was in the code room in Sugar Rush.." Ralph said. He chuckled sadly. "Zombie helped too.. The answer seems obvious now, but I couldn't help but see you as an extension of her at the time.. I know I'm a bad person for thinking like that, and I'm sorry.. But I feel as though I should tell you now or I'd never be able to get it off my chest." _I want to make this work, please give me a chance.._

Vannie leaned back into her chair and sighed. "Ralph.. What am I going to do with you?" _Thank God he's not breaking up with me. But he's still on about that? Why did he have to remind me?_

"I don't know.." Ralph said with an apprehensive sigh. _I think I just screwed up big time.. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut and acted like it never happened.._

"So how are you going to make it up to me?" Vannie asked seriously. _At least he's sorry about it.. He must have been struggling.. When he asked to call me Vannie I just assumed he got over it. I was still terrified that he might correct me when I said I was his girlfriend in front of Felix and Tammy._

"Make it up to you? Uh.." Ralph asked confusedly. _How should I answer that? Are we still going out? Is she giving me another chance? But how can I make it up to her for what I just said?_ Vannie sighed.

"**Are** we going out?" Vannie asked pointedly. She clasped her hands together under the table as she leaned forward and looked him in the eye. _Please just say yes.._

"Absolutely.. Well if you still want to, I mean.." Ralph said. _Oh thank Konami.._

"Okay.. Well that's a start.." Vannie said as she let untensed slightly "But you'd better **not** think of her and I like that again." _Don't even bring this up again.._

"You have my word," Ralph said seriously. _There's no way I could think like that again, I know that much.. But how can I make this up to her? I can't waste this chance.. I thought for sure she would break up with me, but even so I had to get it out.._

They sat there silently for a few minutes until the food was prepared, hoping the mood would reset.

* * *

"Here we are," Crumbelina said as she parked her kart on the side of the street at Cafe DiCaramello. She and Jet hopped out of the kart and faced the building. _I wonder what he's thinking.._

"Fancy," Jet said as he got a good look at the place.

Cafe DiCaramello was an indoor/outdoor restaurant. It used to be just a cafe that served coffee, tea, and sweets, but it expanded to include a larger menu over the years, including actual food.

It was an indoor/outdoor restaurant. It used to be just a cafe that served coffee, tea, and sweets, but it expanded to include a larger menu over the years, including actual food. It was a nice place with glass surfaced tables with metal frames. At each table was a large white chocolate umbrella with milk chocolate swirls to provide shade. The building itself was made of smooth white chocolate drizzled with milk chocolate and a caramel door. The corners of the building were bricked with dark chocolate.

"I hope that doesn't bother you," Crumbelina said warmly.

"No, it's _cool_," Jet said with a nervous smile, "I've never been to a place like this before. Usually it's just Tapper's or Burger Time. It gets old.."

"Well _**that**_ sounds healthy," Crumbelina said sarcastically as they sat down at a table. _I wonder if he expects just sweets here.._

"I know, right?" Jet said just as sarcastically before asking, "So you're _**really**_ not concerned?" _You could get picked on, you know?_

"About being seen socializing with you?" Crumbelina asked dismissively. _Are you really that concerned about how I'll be treated for hanging out with you?_ "I already told you it's _**fine**__._" _At least there's **some** good in him.. Well aside from him __just __being cute. __It probably looks like we're on a date.._

"Well I just mean that.." Jet said before he nervously stopped himself, "Nevermind, it's just my imagination." _Great, now I'm going to end up having to say it, aren't I? I can't keep a secret worth a crap as myself..  
_

"Huh?" Crumbelina asked. _Either it's worth mentioning, or it isn't._

"No.. It's just that.." Jet said reluctantly, "People might think we're _dating_ or something. I wouldn't want that to cause problems for you." _Ugh.. Great, now she's going to figure out I like her __too__. That's going to make it even __**more**__ awkward.._

* * *

"This place aged well for being 15 years old," Jubileena said as they got inside Sugar Rush. It definitely wasn't as crisp as Sugar Rush 2, but it didn't look bad by any means.

"Now let's find us some racers!" Candlehead said cheerfully. _It's like a scavenger hunt, but for racers!_

Markowski tried to hide his smile. _It should be illegal to be that cute, right?_

"I wonder if they had their race already," Spears said, "Might be a good place to start."

"Hmm, could be.." Markowski said. _What's that cold chill?_

"Hello!" Vanellope said as she snuck up behind them, "What brings you guys here?" _Well I **was** going to go find Ralph.. King Candy may have his announcer and racer job back, but as Sugar Rush's president I can't very well ignore visitors._

"Racer spotted!" Candlehead said in a satisfied tone and impulsively picked Vanellope up. Candlehead had a habit of picking up things she found cute. It was a shock when she learned she was holding a Cy-bug egg just the day before. _So adorable! So this is little Vannie.._

"So you must be Candlehead," Vanellope said with a smile, "And **you** must be Jubileena," she turned her head to look at Jubileena.

"And I'm Spears, and this is Markowski," Spears said. _Isn't this the girl who was the maid of honor at Sarge's wedding?_

"Evening," Markowski said. _That's gotta be the same girl. Come to think of it the older one was also the one who beat Minty in her race..  
_

"We were wondering where we could find little me and Candlehead," Jubileena said. _And probably everyone else, knowing Candlehead.._

"Mmm.. Well, if it's Candlehead, she's probably with Taffyta and Rancis," Vanellope said as she patiently allowed herself to be held, "Those three are always together. I'm not sure where little you would be.." _She can let me go any time now though.._

"That's odd, Jujube and I are almost always together in our game.." Candlehead said. _Oops. She doesn't like to be called that unless we're alone.._

"Things must've changed between games," Vanellope said with a shrug, "You might want to check around either the Junkyard or in town." _Doesn't Jubileena usually keep to herself when we're not racing? Jujube though? _She chuckled to herself._ That's kind of fitting.  
_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Candlehead is just too cute.


	5. Cafe DiCaramello

"Alright, that's enough of that," Taffyta said as she stopped leaning on Rancis' shoulder and hopped into her kart, "I'm hungry, let's go eat something." ___My 'sugar gauge' is full enough for now._

"Aww," Rancis groaned as he hopped in as well. _It's not so often I get to see Taffyta like this. Stupid hunger, you just had to get in the way.. Well I am hungry too..__I just wish__ she would show her sweet side all the time._

Taffyta laughed and said, "Hang in there." _You're too fun to tease, sweetie. Well I might tease you a little too much, but nothing like back when you hardly won any races.. I'm glad __he's__ gotten better since then.._ On their way they saw Calhoun and Felix riding on Calhoun's cruiser.

"Excuse me," Calhoun said as she noticed them and turned around to talk to them, "Would you happen to know where we can find a place to eat here?" _You live here, you would know.._

"Oh, we know just the place," Taffyta beamed, "We were headed there ourselves, just follow us." _Is she from Hero's Duty like Kohut and Loya? The armor looks the same.. __I wonder if she's dating the little guy.._

"Why, thank you, friend," Felix said as he tipped his hat before he and Calhoun followed the racers. ___It's certainly amusing to see these racers grown up and going on dates.._

* * *

Back at Cafe DiCaramello.

"Think we're dating, hmm?" Crumbelina said warmly. _Well the thought did cross my mind that it would look like that. For some reason that wouldn't bother me.._ _Is he trying to drop a hint that he likes me? The way he said that seems like he's only worried what people would think about me if they saw us together.. I don't know, he does seem kind of nice, even though his past is kind of shady.. He's harmless now though, probably. Maybe I should give him a chance?_ "Well, I could see how people could get that idea. I wouldn't be too worried about it if I were you." _I don't know.._

"Hey Crumbelina, the usual?" a waitress asked before glancing at Jet with a smile.

"Yes please," Crumbelina said warmly, "So what will you be having Jet?" _He ha__s__n't even looked at the menu yet._

"Oh, _right.._" Jet said as he took a quick glance at the menu, "I'll have the~.. pizza siciliana." _That's a weird name.. But I'm used to pizza by now._

"You know that has _**anchovies**_, right?" Crumbelina asked wryly. _Is he just picking something randomly?_

"That's fine, I don't mind them," Jet said with a nervous smile, "There's this game called _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_. Those guys love pizza. All sorts. Well except with anchovies. Sometimes they would get them by accident and pass them off to **Set** and I.. We played as _**Bad Guys**_ in that game, but they were surprisingly nice considering how Bad Guys are treated in this arcade.. It's one of the few games that actually didn't get _unplugged._. We thought for sure it would, but it just got moved across the room, thankfully." _At least a few games escaped getting unplugged.._

"I see.." Crumbelina said solemnly. _Well at least __a few __of the __game__s __he__ went to didn't get unplugged.. He isn't trying to hide his past at all though, is he?_

"They took some getting used to. _Anchovies__,_ I mean," Jet said nervously as he scratched the back of his head, "I don't think _Set_ liked them too much though, to be honest." _I need to stop bringing him up.._

"You okay? Your eyes are a little red," Crumbelina said softly. _Is he about to cry? Oh that's true, his brother did die yesterday.._

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jet said with a sigh, "I'm just still a bit out of it after yesterday." _I'd better not start tearing up. That's the last thing I need.._

"Okay, well you should take it easy," Crumbelina said softly, "You'd better make sure you get some sleep later." _I wonder what kind of person his brother was.._

Jet laughed and said, "Yeah, okay." _You don't even realize how hard it is for me to sleep. Not with everything I've done over the past 25 and a half years.._

"Here's your pizza siciliana," the waitress said warmly as she carefully placed their meals in front of them, "and here's your bruschetta." The waitress walked back into the building.

"Just something to hold me over until dinner," Crumbelina said as Jet looked over to her plate. _Why am I worried if he thinks I'm dieting? It's not like we can get fat anyways.. Great now I've got the idea stuck in my head. I wonder if King Candy made him cute like this on purpose..  
_

"Ah. It looks good," Jet said as he grabbed one of his slices of pizza and took a bite. _The anchovies here are a little different. __I c__an't quite place it.._

_"Oh hey Crumbelina.." Taffyta said __sweetly as she, Rancis, Felix, and Calhoun arrived__, "And you must be Jet, the new guy. I'm Taffyta."__ Play it off cool, he might act like a normal person since he's new here. I don't need to make any enemies.._

"I'm Rancis. Nice to meet you," Rancis said with a nervous smile. _Normal enough so far. Uh oh.. Don't do it Taffyta.. Why didn't I think of that before?! This is bad.._

"Ah, hey.. Sorry about the whole.. You know.." Jet said nervously. _We all know what I'm talking about, right? __Do I have to say it?_

"Well, don't worry too much about it," Taffyta said softly with a hint of nervousness, "Nice racing earlier." _How'd you manage to get third place though?.. No.. It was luck, it was luck. Don't get mad about it.._

"Thanks.." Jet said with a nervous smile. _They're being.. nice.. Do I really have to worry about getting on her bad side? Not like I want to.._

"Keeping your nose clean, I take it?" Calhoun asked as she and Felix got off her cruiser after watching for a moment. _He's getting quite popular.. They should know what he did already, right? I wonder what's up with that.._

"Yes ma'am," Jet said apprehensively. _She must be here to keep an eye on me.. Don't worry ma'am, I'm going to be a good boy. __N__ot that it makes up for what I've done.._

"Good," Calhoun said dryly as she sat at a nearby table. _Almost looks like he was on a date until those two showed up.. What are you doing __over there, __Felix?_

"Well that looks nice," Felix said cheerfully, "What is that one called?" _I haven't had pizza since that one time in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, come to think of it._

"Pizza siciliana," Jet said with a smile, "You should try it." _I wonder if I should have told him it has anchovies on it.. Well a harmless prank should be okay, right? I hope Calhoun doesn't get mad at me for this.. Crap.. It's too late to take it back._

"You coming?" Calhoun called out. _Are we here to eat or not?_

"Right away!" Felix said with a chuckle as he quickly made his way to the table Calhoun was sitting at. _Pizza siciliana, hmm? Well maybe not a whole one.. Just a couple of slices.._

"I **saw** that," Crumbelina said wryly, "That's mean." _I can't really blame him for that.._

"He might like it, you never know," Jet said with a grin. _Well it seems like she doesn't hate me for doing that at least.._

"Mind if we sit with you?" Taffyta asked sweetly as she already started pulling a chair over from another table. _There's no way Crumbelina would turn us away._

"Sure, go ahead," Crumbelina said sweetly as she scooted her chair over some towards Jet. _Are you trying to push the two of us closer together? Maybe it's just because it's on my mind already.._

"So how do you like it here so far, Jet?" Rancis asked as he pulled over another chair and sat down. _Maybe if I keep talking she won't have a chance to mess things up.. It's on Taffyta's mind already I can tell._

"It's great so far," Jet said with a nervous smile, "I- Well I didn't really expect to be so welcomed here, to be honest." _I'm sure King Candy must have told everyone before hand __what I've done, so why?_

"Well I can see how you might come to expect less," Rancis said with a few small, knowing nods, "I mean, considering everything that happened.. But don't worry about it. You're one of us now, right?" _At __least he understands the gravity of what he's done.. Maybe it'll be fine being nice to him.._

"I would like to think so," Jet said with a smile. _I don't deserve it, but I'll gladly accept being one of you._

"Then it's good.." Taffyta said with a smile, "We're not interrupting a _date_ or anything are we?" _It's kind of obvious, isn't it? Sorry if __we're__ interrupting.._

Jet subconsciously slinked back into his chair a little. _**There** it is.. Maybe I **should** be careful around her after all. How am I supposed to respond to __**that**__? The answer is clearly no. It's not like Crumbelina would date me anyways. Not after what I've done __with my life.__._

Rancis looked at him feeling somewhat guilty on Taffyta's behalf. _Taffyta.. I'm sorry Jet, she can't help it.._

Crumbelina laughed a little and said, "Jet was _worried_ about that." _I shouldn't have laughed.. And why did I say that? Jet is clearly uncomfortable already. I just made it worse.._

Jet laughed nervously. _Great.. This is exactly what I need. Now she's even laughing at me.._

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to _embarrass_ you or anything," Taffyta said while trying not to laugh. _I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh.. I can't stop.._

"No, it's fine," Jet said with an embarrassed laugh. _Is my face red? I never had to worry about that before when it was grey.. I knew I was getting my hopes up too high when I came here with __Crumbelina..__ She didn't have to laugh though. Or say I was worried about it for that matter.._

"Actually.." Crumbelina said softly before looking at Jet, "I don't know. I think I wouldn't mind going out with you though." _I don't know if this is the right choice or not.. At worst he'll prove to not be a good person, right? Maybe I'm being too forward? But what choice to I have after what I just did? How __is he__ going to respond? I hope __he's__ not too mad at me.._

"Oh, there's anchovies," Felix said in a loud and surprised tone. _Gross.. Taking all of these off.._

"Quit picking them off," Calhoun said firmly, "You ordered them, eat them." _Why did you order it in the first place? __She sighed. "Here, let's do this.." She grabbed one of his slices of pizza and slapped some of her spaghetti onto his plate. "No more complaints."_

Taffyta sat there still trying to control herself. _I'm going to die at this rate.. If I open my mouth to breathe I'm just going to laugh. I'm sorry.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, well this development happened a little bit sooner than I at first expected. Ralph and Vannie are in the next chapter. I apologize if it seems as though I'm starting to ignore them. That's not the case, but I can't have every character in every chapter.


	6. You Know What I've Done

Ralph and Vannie finished eating without so much as a word. Ralph was busy wracking his brain thinking of anything he could do to repair the damage he had done. He passed his fingers through his hair as if it would help somehow.

"So is there anywhere you want to go?" Ralph asked. _Anywhere is better than here. Maybe a change of scenery will help.._

"Oh? Like where?" Vannie asked to fish for suggestions. _Anywhere is better than here right now.._

"Well, I don't know," Ralph said, "I could show you **my** game, if you'd like." _As good a place as any to start with._

"That sounds interesting," Vannie said with a reluctant smile, "I was wondering what it looked like." _Maybe this will help Ralph get his mind straight, him being in a familiar place._

They made their way to the gateway for Fix-It Felix Jr. where the mine carts were ready and waiting.

"Wow this is kind of.. tiny," Vannie mused. _How do you fit in this thing?_

"Yeah, well the game **is** 30 years old, after all," Ralph said jokingly as he carefully took a seat. _Of course Pac-Man's game is older, but its transportation is way better.. _The seats were clearly designed with the Nicelanders and Felix in mind. You know,** little** people. No thought to Ralph's size was put into its design at all. "Coming?" He smiled warmly.

Vannie eagerly took a seat in the next cart facing him, as Ralph had taken up the entire cart he was in, and just barely. The small train of mine carts seemingly knew it was time to go so it automatically headed down the tunnel.

"Just don't be too surprised about how uh.. Well there's not much to it, I'll be honest," Ralph said with a sheepish laugh. _It's nowhere near as large or advanced as Sugar Rush.._

"I'm sure it's fine," Vannie said wryly. _I__ remember __his __explanation of how the game was played. __I can't believe he would live in a stump surrounded by bricks though.. __We __**have**__ to fix that._

As they arrived, they could see that a party was taking place in the penthouse.

"Looks like they're having some kind of party," Vannie said excitedly. _Let's go crash it!_

"Yeah, that's the Nicelanders," Ralph said and chuckled warmly, "Always having parties.. We can go in, if you want. They won't mind." _Of course if this was __five__ months ago __i__t would be a different story._

"Sounds good to me," Vannie said eagerly, "Do they know about me yet?" _I'm sure it would be a surprise for them._

"Well, I've not really had much chance to talk to them, what with everything that happened yesterday," Ralph said sheepishly, "Now's a good time though, right? Since you're here and everything." _There's really no reason to say that Vanellope has been here tons of times.. She might take that as another comparison between them.._

They went up the elevator to the penthouse and knocked. Ralph was still welcome inside, after everything that happened, but he never got used to just walking in when they were having a party.

"Ah.. Ralph, come on in," Gene said with a somewhat forced smile as he answered the door, "And.. Well, I guess you must be Vannie from Sugar Rush 2. Just watch the ceiling, Ralph. Felix isn't around to fix it." He returned to his idle chatter with Don who was standing nearby. _He actually got a girlfriend.. Well it __**would**__ be a girl like Vanellope._ Not that he disliked her.

"Right," Ralph said dryly. He still occasionally forgot about how low the ceiling was at the entrance of the penthouse. "Felix headed off to see Calhoun. He might be back a little late." _If he comes to the party at all._

"That sounds about right," Gene scoffed, "Oh, and the stairs too." _My precious glass stairs._

"Got it.." Ralph said dryly. _I get it __already.__ I'm clumsy._

"So what brings **you** here, dear?" Mary asked warmly_. __She grew up nicely.. And tall._

"Oh, well Ralph told me about the game and I was curious what it was like," Vannie said with a grin, "I hope you don't mind us joining the party."_ Everyone here is so short._

"Oh don't worry, dear," Mary said with a giggle, "So you must be Ralph's lady friend."

"Felix spilled the beans, huh," Ralph said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. _He would._

"Well, just a little," Mary said as she chuckled warmly, "You're free to join us any time, dear. There's still a little cake left, if you would like a slice." _We already made sure to save a slice for Ralph._

"Oh, I'd love some, thanks," Vannie said as she followed her across the room.

"So, Ralph. You actually went and did it," Gene said as he watched Vannie go with Mary to grab a slice of cake, "You be careful now. I know how clumsy you can be." _I can only imagine the kind of difficulty you two will have.._ He was a little more.. understanding.. with Ralph after the whole Turbo incident. It's a bit of a stretch to say they were friends or anything of the sort, but he was affable enough.

"Yeah, I know," Ralph grumbled low enough for just Gene to hear him. _It's something I worry about constantly._ _If I should misjudge my strength at a critical moment, the results could be devastating. Being a wrecker has its disadvantages._

"Please, call me Vannie," Vannie said to Mary with a smile as she took a bite of cake. It was a slice near the 'mud', that being all that was left.

"Well that's a lovely name," Mary said warmly, "So how did you meet Ralph?" _I suppose that will make it easier to distinguish the two._

"Dad and I found him looking bored sitting at the entrance to our game as we were on our way back yesterday," Vannie said with a grin, "So we invited him to come along to our game. He's a really funny guy." _I wonder what he'll do next._

"Oh that he is.." Mary said as she chuckled warmly and covered her mouth briefly, "I don't suppose he's.. said anything about us, has he?" _About how he used to be treated.._

"No.. Why would he?" Vannie asked as she cocked a brow. _What would he have said?_

"Well, no I just mean.." Mary said solemnly, "To be honest, we weren't always 'hospitable' to Ralph.. Bad Guys have a bit of a stigma attached to them.. Oh, but he's so nice once you get to know him." _I had a feeling that would be the case, but I didn't want to be the only one to say anything.._

"I see," Vannie said in disbelief, "So how long were you **in**hospitable for? Just out of curiosity.." _Why __Ralph__ tell me about this?_

"Um.. Well," Mary said nervously. _Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it._ "30 years, I hate to say."

"That's a **long** time.." Vannie said in an annoyed tone. _30 __**years**__?!_

"We feel bad about it, **really** we do," Mary said defensively, "It's just that, well his job is to wreck our homes. We just sort of.. Well, we just saw Ralph as the guy who wrecks the building. Gene especially insisted that Ralph was nothing more. We didn't think about **Ralph's** feelings on the matter. I wish we could take it back.." _I made her mad.._

"Well did you at least apologize to him?" Vannie asked. _I can't believe this.._

"Oh, of course!" Mary said earnestly, "We wasted **no** time apologizing after.. Well, after Ralph went game jumping.. Not that it makes up for how he was treated for 30 years.. But we're trying." _I refuse to call what he did 'going Turbo'. It's different!  
_

"I'm sure he forgives you.." Vannie said with a sigh, "He's that kind of person.. Well, I'm going talk to him. It was nice meeting you, Mary." _Unbelievable.._

"Likewise," Mary said with a reluctant smile._ I_ _wonder if maybe there's something else I can do for Ralph.._

* * *

"You don't mean that, do you?" Jet asked reluctantly. _How can Crumbelina possibly want to go out with me?_ _Especially_ _after everything I've done._ _I even said the only reason I'm not taking over games anymore is because I'm satisfied and don't even know how to do it anymore. Not that it's 100% true.. How could anyone possibly want to date someone like that though?_ _You can't go getting my hopes up Crumbelina. You're the first person to ever be nice to me since.. Well since King Candy I guess, but that was more out of pity I think. I'm a **bad** guy. It's a miracle alone that you're associating with me at all._

"Hey, come on.." Crumbelina said. _That hurts.. But I guess I can't really blame him for reacting like that. I don't especially feel **strongly** one way or another, but he's cute, and he's honest to a fault._

"Did I.. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything," Taffyta said nervously as she started getting up, "Come on Rancis, I think we should probably sit at a different table." _Why did I say that anyway?_ _There's a difference between giving someone a chance and playing matchmaker for them._ _Especially_ _considering the kind of person Jet is. Or was.. Just what in the world am I thinking?_

"It's fine, Taffyta, you don't have to get up," Crumbelina said pointedly, "I'm going to bring Jet inside so we can talk." She stood up. Her face was burning red. They hadn't even eaten much of what they ordered. "Come on Jet." He reluctantly stood up and followed her inside to the shop, up the stairs where they could be alone. _We can settle this in private._

* * *

"I'm **sorry**," Crumbelina said as she sad down on a spare chair and motioned for him to sit on another. They were in a sort of storage room for cooking supplies and the like. About twice the size of a bedroom. "Taffyta can be a little.. tactless sometimes. She didn't mean to make you nervous or anything." _I should have given him a little more warning, I guess._

Jet sat down with a sigh. "Well, I can _see_ why you would say to be careful around her.." he said before leaning his head against the back of his chair to look up at the ceiling.

"I did mean it.." Crumbelina said nervously, "I mean.. I guess it's understandable given everything that happened, that you wouldn't expect someone to want to date you, but even so.." _Come on, we might hit it off, you know?_

Jet looked her in the eyes and asked, "But even so.. Why me? How could you possibly want to date someone like **me**? That's what I just can't figure out.." _You **know** what I've done._

"Well, I don't know," Crumbelina said with a sigh, "To be honest I just don't know. So far you've been honest about everything, haven't you? I'm not sure, but it takes a lot for someone to say exactly what's on their mind like you do."

"I do like you.." Jet said nervously as he clasped his hands together. _I never know what to do with my hands when I'm not racing.._ "I just.. Really though, there's so many guys that you could pick that haven't ruined people's lives. I've destroyed entire **worlds** in a sense, you know?"

"You're right.." Crumbelina said, "But when I look at you, I just get the feeling that there's more to you than that. The fact that you keep talking about it.. The **way** you keep talking about it.. I just feel as though you would do things differently if given the chance."

"Maybe.." Jet said, "But it's not like I have that chance. Nothing can change what I did. That I got games unplugged as a **direct** result of my actions.."

"But it wasn't just you, was it?" Crumbelina asked pointedly, "You told me about your brother Set. Didn't **he** have something to do with it as well?" _You can't take all of the blame just because he's dead.._

* * *

"I should have kept my mouth shut," Taffyta said guiltily. _It's true I said it to pick on Jet, but how was I supposed to know it would turn out the way it did? I didn't even mean anything by it, really..  
_

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Rancis said reassuringly, "Not really the best thing to say though, maybe.." _She enjoys playing matchmaker a little too much._

"Not really helping," Taffyta said with a sigh, "Try again?" _He usually knows what to say.. Come on, Rancis. Help me out here.  
_

"Um.. Well, you already apologized, so maybe he's not too mad?" Rancis said, "You could try talking to him later when he's had a chance to relax a little?" _Yeah, I'm a bit off my game today I suppose._

"Maybe, I don't know.." Taffyta said skeptically, "I'll **try** talking to him later. He at least seems reasonable.." _He didn't lash out at me or anything at least._

"He seems nice.." Rancis said sincerely, "But really, I wonder if those two would really date each other.." _He seems like he's fallen for her already.._

"Well it looked that way to me," Taffyta said seriously, "That's why I joked about it."

"See? It's not so bad is it?" Calhoun asked Felix dryly from their nearby table.

"I'm **not** ordering it again," Felix said confidently with his arms crossed. _Anchovies, yuck!_

"Good," Calhoun said firmly before smiling, "Such a fussy eater." _He's cute when he's like this.._

"Well it just looked so _**good**_ at first," Felix said. _I would have never ordered it if 'anchovy' was in the name._

"Can we get you anything else?" the waitress asked them as she collected the plates.

"I would like a lemon tart," Felix said with a smile, "Oh, and some coffee with lots of cream and sugar." _What could possibly go wrong? I've had lemon pies before, so it shouldn't be much different._

"I'll just have some coffee, thanks," Calhoun said, "No sugar or anything."

_"Alright, we'll be with you in a moment," the waitress said with a smile before walking back inside.__ Maybe we should put a warning that there's anchovies._

* * *

**Author's Note:** In the future I'm likely not going to bother saying what they're eating, haha. This was mostly because of the anchovies and I didn't want to list one thing and nothing else. Plus it led to the conversation about TMNT.


	7. Come Live With Us

"Should we maybe leave now?" Taffyta asked guiltily, "I mean.. He might still be upset, right?" _What have I done?_

"Mm.. But aren't you hungry?" Rancis asked, "I think it'll probably be fine, maybe.. We'll just eat, and if they're not back by then, we can go." _You have no idea how starving I am, Taffyta. Besides, you shouldn't run away from apologizing since you know you'll chase after him to apologize later anyway once you've calmed down._

"Fine. We'll eat something first," Taffyta said as she leaned back and crossed her arms.

"Sorry for the wait," the waitress said with a smile, "What can I get you two?" Taffyta sighed.

"A panini is fine, whatever kind," Taffyta said. _Not so hungry anymore though.. Not after I blew my chance at making a good first impression like that. It was supposed to be a lighthearted joke. How did it turn out like this anyway? It's not like **I** knew he couldn't take a joke.. And they did look like they were going out. How's that **my** fault?_

"Me too," Rancis said. _Come on, Brain.. I'm usually better at this. I completely failed this time. I'm usually the one Taffyta can count on to fix everything. Maybe I should have a talk with Jet first to make sure there aren't any misunderstandings.._ The waitress went inside.

"Now see, **that** was good," Felix said cheerfully at the table he was sitting at nearby after finishing his lemon tart and coffee.

"You like anything with sugar in it, don't you?" Calhoun asked wryly.

"Sugar would **not** have helped that **pizza**," Felix said confidently as he crossed his arms, which made them laugh. Felix had long since stopped paying attention to the other table.

"So did you have anywhere else in mind?" Calhoun asked. _Still plenty of time in the day._

"Well, I don't know, there's still the matter of the party, isn't there?" Felix asked.

"Can't get away from it, huh?" Calhoun asked with a smile, "You know I don't mind."

"I'd feel bad if we didn't at least make an appearance," Felix said with a sheepish grin, "We'll just pop in and talk a while." They stood up and walked over to Taffyta and Rancis, Felix simply following Calhoun's lead.

"We may have overheard a little," Calhoun said as she crossed her arms, "It's not our place to say what kind of relationship you have with Jet, but don't be too hard on him, okay?" _What is wrong with me? Having sympathy for him like this. I can't believe that other girl wants to date him.. But it might not be a terrible idea. If Set's message is anything to go by, Jet might not have even game jumped at all if not for him.__ I'm going with my gut on this one._

"Sorry, I know," Taffyta said, "So who are you two anyway? Are you from the same game as Kohut and Loya?" She and Rancis had met them briefly the day before when the search for Set was in progress.

"You can call me _Tamora_," Calhoun said, "I'm from Hero's Duty, just like the two you mentioned." _I see no reason to put her on the 'business' end of my name._

"And **I** am her husband, Fix-It Felix Jr.," Felix said cheerfully with a slight bow, "From the **game** Fix-It Felix Jr."

"You make a cute couple," Taffyta said with a smile. _He's proud to have a game named after him, I see._

"Why, thank you," Felix said with a grin as he tipped his hat. _We get that a lot._

"Can I call you Tammy instead?" Taffyta asked sheepishly, "I think it suits you.."

"If you want.." Calhoun scoffed. "Well, good luck with it." She and Felix got on her cruiser and headed back to Fix-It Felix Jr._ Everyone always wants to call me Tammy.._

"I wonder if they'll be okay," Felix said as he turned his head back in their direction.

"It'll be fine," Calhoun said pointedly, "You worry too much sometimes. They'll work something out." _If not, then my gut would be wrong. And my gut is seldom wrong._

"But _jaminy_," Felix said, "Jet sure is getting popular." _Even though they know what he did.. Yikes on bikes.._

"Well what do you expect?" Calhoun asked with an incredulous smile, "King Candy gave him such a **handsome** skin."

"Ah, but nobody is as **handy** as me," Felix said with a grin._ Tammy, you're such a tease._

* * *

"Hey, so how's the cake?" Ralph asked with a smile as Vannie walked back over to him. Gene went talk to Sonic.

"It's good," Vannie said with a few small nods, "Not quite as sweet as the stuff in my game, but still good."

"That's Mary's cooking for ya," Ralph said with a slightly worried smile. _What's up?_

"So why didn't you tell me about them?" Vannie asked with a frown. _That they avoided you and stuff.._

"Well.. I think it's probably better to talk about that outside," Ralph said as he furrowed his brow, "Besides, I still haven't shown you my junk pile, have I?" _For a while that was Calhoun's nickname for me and everything.._

"That's a nice way to refer to your home.." Vannie said sarcastically. _He__ should come live with us at the castle.._

"Yeah, well it is what it is," Ralph said sheepishly. _Not really something I can be proud of, for sure. _He led her to the giant mountains of bricks. "Tada.." Since the game was reset, 'East Niceland' was no longer there. For the time being the homeless characters who had taken up residence in Fix-It Felix Jr. were sharing a room in the apartment building. Right there, smack dab in the middle of the enormous mass of bricks was Ralph's stump.

"So **this** is where you live," Vannie said in complete shock, "Why don't you have an apartment room? Or even your own building?" _Now I'm really going to have to have him come live with us.._

"Before you start getting mad at them.." Ralph said with a sigh, "It was my **choice **to stay here. I had a small place here before the game was reset after the plugs got switched around and everything. Nothing fancy though." _How non-fancy it was I'll leave out._

"Okay, but 30** years**, Ralph?" Vannie asked frustratedly, "Mary told me.."

"Mary is one of the nicer Nicelanders," Ralph said with a smile, "It's true that they used to treat me like some kind of criminal. But it comes with the occupation really. I actually have it luckier than most now."_ Even before considering the fact that I'm dating the lovely young lady standing in front of me._

"What, just because you do your job?" Vannie asked as she crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. _How can you not be angry about this? Or even livid.. I'd be furious! I **am** furious!_

"But it's different now," Ralph said pointedly, "They realized just how wrong they were, even if they don't know how to express it other than simply apologizing."

"I'll have to take your word on it, I guess," Vannie said with a sigh as she scratched her neck, "But why not live with me and my dad at the castle? It's not like there isn't enough room." _We'd get to see each other even more often._

Ralph chuckled warmly._ Vanellope wanted me to live with her too.._ "I appreciate the offer.. But-" he started.

"Well I'm not asking you to share a **bed** with me or anything, silly," Vannie said wryly, "I mean.. Well forget I said that. But there's **lots** of guest rooms. You could have your own wing even." _I wish I didn't bring up beds. I'm not ready for anything like that even if maybe he is.. We've only known each other for two days for crying out loud. Is that even why he's hesitant to accept though?_

"Yeah.." Ralph said dryly as he stroked his chin in thought. _Why **am** I so dead set on sleeping on a pile of bricks rather than live in a castle and sleep on a soft bed? Am I programmed to like hard surfaces or something? Well I've never actually slept on a bed though, now that I think about it. Nobody ever threw one out._ "You sure your dad wouldn't mind the intrusion? I mean it's up to **him**, right?" _I really shouldn't be thinking about Vannie and I in a bed together right now. That's not even what she meant by it. Besides, I don't think I could possibly do something like that for various reasons._

"Not at all," Vannie said with a hopeful smile as she grabbed one of Ralph's large hands, "He was even disappointed you didn't stay last time. Come on, there's no reason to sleep on bricks is there?" _No whammy. No whammy. Stop!_

Ralph sighed. _It's not like I can come up with a good enough excuse to say no.. _"Alright.. I'll see how it goes for a night." _It's not like I hate the idea anyway. Or the other idea for that matter.. But the latter is too.. dangerous.._

After a few minutes, Felix and Calhoun came along.

"Hey there Ralph, Vannie," Felix said cheerfully, "I'm surprised you two aren't at the party."

"**I'm** not," Calhoun said wryly. _Come on Felix, you know they're going out.._

"It was a little crowded," Vannie said sheepishly. _What's she imagining?_

"Sorry about that," Felix said with a chuckle, "It's a special occasion, what with the new surge protectors and all." _It's too bad they didn't come along. They sure take their jobs seriously. I wonder if they sleep.._

"Wah hah!" Mario said as he and his brother glided over in their best capes, "It's-a me! Mario!"

"Well, heckle my Jekyll. If it isn't Mario! You're rather early," Felix said excitedly. _This is a first._

"I look-a forward to this party," Mario said excitedly, "I got-a ready **early** this-a time!"

"It was-a **my** idea," Luigi said as he pointed to his chest, "Every time, fashionably late. Not today. Even missed-a races in Sugar Rush yesterday."

"But the kart. It was-a perfect, no?" Mario asked with a laugh.

"Let's-a go," Luigi said as he nudged Mario lightly on the shoulder, "The party awaits." The Mario brothers ran over to the apartment building and went inside.

"So who were they?" Vannie asked with a laugh. _They've got some acc__ents on them.._

"That's right, you just got plugged in.." Felix said with a grin, "Mario and Luigi are quite famous around these parts."

"They're from Mario Kart Arcade GP. It's just across the arcade in Game Station East," Ralph said, "Mr. Litwak seems to like collecting racing games." _I lost track of how many there are, __not like I was counting them to begin with._

"Hmm, yeah he did spend a lot of time playing our game when it first got plugged in," Vannie recalled. _He was pretty good at it too._

"Well, we don't want to keep them waiting," Felix said with a grin as he and Calhoun turned their bodies slightly towards the apartment building, "We'll see you inside."

"Right.." Ralph said as the couple walked away, "And that's the guy I throw bricks at." _But it's all in good fun.._

They went back to the party.

* * *

"There she is!" Candlehead yelled excitedly as she pointed out little Jubileena in the Junkyard of Sugar Rush.

Vanellope had glitched out of her grasp after a few minutes of patiently letting herself be held._ What is it with my friends from Sugar Rush 2 always wanting to hug and hold me? Is that just a downside to being an adorable winner?_

"Candlehead?" little Jubileena asked as she turned around, "Oh, you must be from the new game that came out. Hmm.. We grew up well." She was tuning up her kart a bit when they showed up.

"Look out, she's gonna grab you!" Vanellope warned excitedly as she cupped her hands over her mouth so that her voice carried farther. _Escape while you can! _She laughed.

"**Shh**!" Candlehead beamed, "See? She's on guard now.." _I'm gonna catch you. _She giggled as she playfully chased little Jubileena around her kart.

"Hmm, was I always this cute as a kid?" Jubileena asked with a smile as she watched the two girls continuously circling the kart back and forth, "..Say yeah." _At least put in some effort Spears. I'm no good at this kind of thing._

"Yeah?" Spears with an incredulous smile while cocking a brow.

"Good.." Jubileena said in a satisfied tone as Candlehead caught little Jubileena, "Candlehead, don't crush little me okay?" _I know she enjoys showering things she finds cute with affection, but.._

"So where is little **me**?" Candlehead asked as she snuggled little Jubileena in her arms. _Oh like I'd crush anybody. I'm gentle as they come. Isn't that right little Jujube?_

"Probably with Taffyta and Rancis if I had to guess," little Jubileena said as she tried squirming out of Candlehead's arms. _I wonder why she's with big me instead of Taffyta and Rancis.._ She stopped squirming. _Well this isn't so bad I guess.._

"Didn't **we** always hang out together though?" Candlehead asked confusedly. _I'm finding it hard to remember right now for some reason._

"Not that I can recall," little Jubileena said while cocking a brow, "You're always with Taffyta and Rancis, even when we're not racing." _I'm always here by myself. By choice though._

"Oh.." Candlehead said disappointedly, "Well do you know where they are?"

"Not really," little Jubileena said as she looked up to look Candlehead in the eyes, "Have you checked in Diet Cola Mountain? Knowing them they're ignoring the law against going there."

"Oh you mean that bonus track is in this game too?" Candlehead asked with a smile. _I kind of like that place._ "Why is there a law like that?"

"Well it's not finished," little Jubileena said, "And there's a law against going in there because there was supposedly a ghost haunting the place. But there's also the falling mentos. But it's not really that dangerous. Especially since it turned out that King Candy was the 'ghost' haunting the place." _Just don't go jumping into the diet cola springs.._

"Ignoring the rules, eh?" Vanellope said mischievously, "I may have to give them a bit of a scare.." _Not that I mind people going in there so much anymore. It's a load off my mind finding out that King Candy was the 'ghost' living there, and that he wasn't actually the bad guy Turbo made him out to be.. I'd still rather not go back in there, but it should be fine for a little while.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Markowski is just silently watching in awe. I'm not really sure what I would have had him or Spears say to be honest, haha. The way I'm imagining Candlehead right now, she's almost like a pokemon trainer catching pokemon. Will she catch 'em all?


	8. They're Going Out

"Ah, Felix! We were wondering where you were!" Gene said cheerfully, "Mario and Luigi are **early**, believe it or not!" Mario and Luigi were tearing up the dance floor by themselves. Nobody wanted to get too close to their wildly spinning capes.

"I know!" Felix said cheerfully while gesturing with his hands, "They were **really** excited when they stopped to talk."

"Ah, I see Ralph and his girlfriend are back," Gene said as he gave the couple a nod before his focus returned to Felix, "We were wondering where they snuck off to."

"Ralph was.." Felix said sheepishly before clearing his throat, "Just showing off East Niceland.. I should really get around to rebuilding the place." _Q*bert and the others have been patient._

"Right.." Gene said with a nod before sipping his martini, "I suppose that **would** be prudent."

"We missed you, Felix!" Deanna said with a smile, "Oh, and Tamora is here. What a lovely surprise!"

"Deanna," Calhoun said with an insincere smile. _I don't care for most of these Nicelanders, but there's no reason to step on any toes._

"So nice to meet you Vannie," Nel said warmly, "My name is Nel. What is your game like?"

"Oh, nice to meet you," Vannie said sweetly, "Well it's a world made of candy, mostly. A go-kart racing game."

"Why that sounds splendid," Nel said warmly, "We may have to pay a visit sometime, right Lucy?" _It sounds exciting.. and sweet._

"We've never actually seen a race before," Lucy said with a chuckle, "But now is a good time to start."

"Did-a somebody say **race**?" Mario asked excitedly as he rushed over from the dance floor, "You must-a be from Sugar Rush 2. I'm-a Mario!" _Forgive-a me Peach. __He reached his hand out for hers._

"I'm Vannie," Vannie said with a smile as she shook Mario's hand. He was obviously attempting to kiss her hand however. "So you're from a kart racing game as well I hear."

"That's-a right!" Mario said excitedly, "Mario Kart Arcade GP. Since-a 2005. Ah, Bowser told-a me a lot about you, Ralph. Very nice-a to meet you." _So glad we became-a friends with Bowser yesterday. Big-a weight lifted. Should thank-a Zombie someday.  
_

"Likewise," Ralph said with a smile._ First time I ever speak to the guy. He must really be in a good mood._

"Glad-a you get your memory back," Luigi said cheerfully, "Must 'ave been rough."

"It was an.. interesting experience," Ralph said nonchalantly as Vannie slipped her arm into his. He swallowed hard. _It's like someone suddenly turned on the heater in here. She doesn't get nervous doing stuff like that in front of people?_ "I'm just glad that's all over." _And of course that I got a girlfriend out of it. Best one possible, really.  
_

* * *

Vanellope snuck into Diet Cola Mountain first and threw a rock at a stack of mentos. If there was one skill other than her racing that she was proud of, it was her aim. Little Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead were indeed playing inside as was evidenced by their karts just inside the secret entrance. When the mentos fell into the broiling hot diet cola, the three of them ran to the exit. The thought that this place may have really been haunted did cross their minds briefly until they ran into Vanellope who was waiting with a mischievous grin and her arms crossed.

"Oh.. Hey Vanellope," little Taffyta said with a nervous laugh. _Busted.._

"We were just.." little Rancis said. _Breaking the law._

"Ah, don't worry about it," Vanellope said dismissively as they got closer to the exit, "It's a stupid law anyway.. We got some people that wanna see you."

"See us?" little Candlehead asked. _I wonder who.._

"That sounds like me~!" Candlehead said excitedly as she ran through the fake wall and carefully snatched 'herself' up. "Gotcha!" _So~ cute! Watch the candle though._

"Well **this** is interesting," Markowski said wryly as he walked in and placed his hand back through the wall, "Feels tingly." _Bzzz__t__._

"Woah!" little Candlehead said as she hugged her older self, "Hey me?" _I'm pretty._

Spears walked inside, followed by Jubileena who was holding her counterpart affectionately.

"See? I told you they'd be here," little Jubileena said with a satisfied smirk. _It's a little crowded in here.._

"So where are 'we'?" little Rancis asked, "I mean, the older Taffyta and I.." _Did I even have to clarify?_

"They're still in our game, probably," Candlehead said as she played with her counterpart's hair before putting her down and grinning at little Rancis, "Your turn, come on. And you Taffyta." She picked the two up simultaneously, more or less with consent. _Four down, eleven to go, judging by this game's roster. I don't think I want to hug King Candy.._

"So who are these guys?" little Taffyta asked as she nodded at Markowski and Spears. _They're from Tammy's game, right?_

"Oh, well I'm Spears," Spears said, "and this is my friend Markowski. We're from Hero's Duty."

"Oh, so you know Tammy then," little Taffyta said with a knowing smile. _I knew it! I wonder how Tammy and Felix are doing._

"Yeah, that's our Sarge," Markowski said. _Sarge does come here with Felix fairly often. I didn't expect her to like kids though.  
_

"So wait, her name **isn't** 'Sarge' then?" Candlehead asked._ Well I'm glad I know **now**._

"That's uh.." Spears said, "That's just what we call her. It's her rank. It's short for sergeant."

"Oh, well that makes sense," Candlehead said sheepishly. _So what's a sergeant then? I wonder what rank Leon is.._

"So are you guys dating or something?" little Taffyta asked wryly. _It looks that way._

Markowski and Spears looked at each other. _How should we answer that?_

"Close enough, I think," Jubileena said with her arms crossed. _They had it written all over their faces anyway. They would ask sooner or later._

"What?!" Candlehead asked, "Why wasn't I told?! I mean.. Not that I mind or anything.." Her face burned a bright red. She never was the brightest candle on the cake, yet she was still a lot smarter than people gave her credit for. _Was it supposed to be obvious?_

"Too tight.." little Rancis said in a slightly strained tone. He and Taffyta were still in Candlehead's clutches.

"Oh, sorry," Candlehead said sheepishly as she let them down.

* * *

Jet sighed. _She's__ right. Set did play the biggest part of our game jumping escapades.. But that doesn't mean that I wasn't still an accessory to world destruction. I could have gotten out of it if I tried.._

"Well look.." Crumbelina said pointedly as she became increasingly annoyed with Jet's attitude, "Let me put it **this** way. Are you sorry that the games got unplugged because of you?"

"Well, **yeah**.." Jet said guiltily, "But that's hardly enough to-"

"Are you just going to mope around for the rest of your life?!" Crumbelina asked heatedly while trying to keep her voice down. _You can't do anything productive if you're going to be a stick in the mud. Why is it even bothering me so much?_

"I-" Jet said before getting cut off. _Why is it even bothering her so much?_

"I'm giving you a chance to start over da- okay?" Crumbelina asked, "Now answer me. Do you like me?" _I need to calm down. I almost cursed.._

"..Yes.." Jet said nervously. _A lot.. Except for the yelling._

"Alright, good" Crumbelina said with a sigh, "Now aside from what you've told me so far, is there a reason you think I **shouldn't** date you?"

"I.. Well I don't know.." Jet said incredulously. _Does she like 'bad __gu__ys'?_

"Then suck it up," Crumbelina said pointedly, "Nobody is going to like you if you keep throwing yourself a pity party like this. And **nobody** is going to stop giving you dirty looks if you don't at least make an attempt to separate yourself from your past. Are you 'Jet **Chocolisto**' or not?"

Jet sighed deeply as he rested his elbows on his knees and his forehead on his raised, clasped hands._ I'm_ _not going to win this. It's been sinking in for a while now. _"Alright.." he said reluctantly, "You've made your point.." _I'd love to have a girlfriend anyways.. It's better than being alone for the rest of my life._

"And?" Crumbelina asked incredulously. _Good, there's hope for him yet._

"Would you **really** want to go out with **me** though?" Jet asked confusedly. _I mean, really? She's got options.._

"Well **duh**, otherwise I wouldn't have said anything," Crumbelina said while rolling her eyes, "Well, the timing could have been better though. Taffyta just sort of forced me to act sooner." _She couldn't hold the question in though, she's always been like that as far as I can remember.._

"I've never really dated anyone before, you know.." Jet said nervously. _I'm probably going to screw this up.._

"Well it's not like I have either," Crumbelina said with a shrug, "We just got plugged in yesterday. And the other racers, well.. I don't know, just not seeing it." _That's one way to put it.._

Jet laughed incredulously and asked, "But you see it in **me**?" _You know what I've done.._

"Well I think I've gotten to know you well enough to make that kind of judgment," Crumbelina said with a shrug. _I'm at least somewhat confident that despite what he may think about himself, the only reason __he__ did it was because of Set__.. _She heard from Jubileena that Set was the manipulative type who had even gone as far as taking hostages to make a deal.

Jet sighed as he tried to ignore his agitated nerves. He swallowed hard and said, "I would be happy.. to go out with you.." _Maybe it could work out.. Hopefully.. Even if she may be making a mistake placing such high hopes in someone like me._

"Good," Crumbelina said with a satisfied smile, "Now, are you ready to go back outside?" _That wasn't so hard, was it?_

"Well.. Not exactly," Jet said nervously. _I can't just say that Taffyta is a bit intimidating. All she did was make a lighthearted joke about the situation._

"Well come on, there's no reason to wait until they leave," Crumbelina said knowingly, "Taffyta will probably apologize again as soon as we get out there. And it's not like you can avoid her either. She'll hunt you down later if necessary."

"Oh really?" Jet asked with an incredulous smile, "She would hunt me down? To apologize?" He laughed. _Actually I can kind of see that.._

"It sounds like a joke, but it's not," Crumbelina said with a smile.

Jet sighed and said, "Alright.. I guess since there's no avoiding it anyway.." He stood up and stretched._ Feels like I've been sitting down for days._

"Okay, now hug," Crumbelina said in all seriousness, "You'll feel better." She opened her arms expectantly. _You **really** look like you need it._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Crumbelina is just a **little** bit stubborn here. It's explained why in a later chapter.


	9. New East Niceland

**Author's Note:** Since there are two King Candys, and they're mostly identical, the King Candy of Sugar Rush 1 will have (1) after his name. The only difference between the two is that the King Candy of Sugar Rush 2 is a few inches taller.

* * *

Ralph and Vannie spent a while talking about the intricacies of Sugar Rush 2 with Mario and Luigi. Ralph had at least some knowledge of it, since he had already seen a race, not to mention the time he had spent in the original Sugar Rush.

"Ralph, brother. Mind giving me a hand?" Felix asked with a sheepish grin, "I was thinking we could get to work on East Niceland." _Q*bert and the others shouldn't be kept waiting._

Ralph was relieved to have an excuse to leave the conversation. _Oh, finally._ The Mario brothers were nice guys and all, but he'd had enough people-exposure to last a while. He always was a sort of private man.

"Sure thing, Felix," Ralph said with a smile, "You're coming too, right Vannie?" _I don't feel quite right leaving Vannie alone, especially not around the Mario brothers. Or the Nicelanders, since Mary has apparently been saying things best not brought up. I do have to give Mary credit for being honest though.._

"Ooh, a working man, hmm?" Vannie said wryly, "Count me in." _I thought he was a wrecker. He's going to build?_

"It was-a nice meeting you," Luigi said cheerfully. _Who would 'ave thought Bad Guys can be such-a good guys?_

"We'll catch up later," Ralph said, still smiling. _I don't **really** mean that.. But if they want to talk later I won't turn them away. It's not like I dislike them or anything._

"Bye," Vannie said as she ran out the door after Ralph and Felix.

"What a nice-a Bad Guy," Mario said to Luigi.

"Much-a better than we thought," Luigi said to Mario.

"I owe you one," Ralph said as they got to where East Niceland used to be, "Never really been one for crowds." _Although I've gotten used to them somewhat by now._

"So are you building another apartment or something?" Vannie asked.

"A few, actually," Felix said with a smile, "Of course not all in **one** **night**." _And really, one would be enough, but it's easier for privacy reasons to have more.  
_

"You're not gonna go back on your word, are ya Ralph?" Vannie asked worriedly. She was, of course, referring to his tentative agreement to live in the castle. _You better not. We have a deal._

"No, I meant it," Ralph said as he ran his fingers through his hair. _Do we really need to talk about this now?_

Calhoun put the pieces together easily enough, but didn't say anything. She just stood there and crossed her arms while wearing a wry smirk. _What is it about them that makes them such a good match?_

"Alright, just let me grab a pie," Felix said. _I wish I hadn't eaten already.._ With a swift game-like motion he ate a pie that was graciously cooked by Mary. His hat began blinking several colors, which was the signal for Ralph to rapid-fire throw bricks at him from a pile as Felix quickly set them in place. _These pies really come in handy._ After about a half hour of this, the first building was done at the touch of his hammer. _Ugh. That's my limit.._ He didn't have to worry about getting fat or anything, being a game character, but rapidly eating something over and over didn't sit well all the same.

"Absolutely nothing," Ralph said with a smirk, "Tried it. Must be something in Felix's code. Not that I'm complaining." _What would I even do with an ability like that?_

"So **this** is where you were!" King Candy(1) said with a boisterous laugh.

"Zombie here too!" Zombie said cheerfully, "King Candy also here." He pointed to King Candy with one of his hatchets. King Candy had spent a moment observing the party from the front of the apartment building.

"Hey Zombie, good to have you around," Ralph said with a smile. _And then he says.._

_"Zombie just here for moral support," Zombie said with a wheezing laugh. ____It's what I'm best at, my good friend._

"Hey Zombie!" Vannie said excitedly, "And Dad, what are you doing here? Oh, and well, **other**.. dad?" _Should I just call him King Candy?_

"Zombie glad to see you doing well," Zombie said. _It __would warm my heart if I were alive__._

"Felix, we were wondering if you could help us out with something," King Candy(1) said, "You see, we were hoping to get some sort of holster for Zombie's hatchets so he.. well so he didn't have to carry them in his hands, you know?" He laughed nervously. _I hate asking favors, but it's for a good cause. Like __either one of us__ know how to program a holster.. I've never even seen one up-close._

"That right," Zombie said, "Felix person to ask since he have holster for hammer. It make sense." _If I could just rest my arms, that would be amazing._

"Why of course, Zombie!" Felix said cheerfully, "I can set you up with that. I'll be but a moment," He ran off to his apartment. He wasn't surprised to see Zombie, he had heard a lot about him from Ralph over the past few months. Not to mention Zombie was there when Felix fixed the door to Sugar Rush's code room the day before. He fashioned a belt for Zombie to holster his hatchets in with some materials he always kept around in case he ever needed them. It took no time at all, Felix being the handy person he is. "Here you go, friend." He presented Zombie with a belt of his own. _It'll probably take some getting used to.._

"NNNNNGH!" Zombie groaned in approval as he placed the hatchets in their new home and put the belt on, "It good! Zombie appreciate it. Take getting used to, but good. Zombie always wish for place to put hatchets. They always in way." Zombie didn't quite know what to do with his new found hand-freedom so he just crossed his arms._ Yes, this will do quite nicely._

"It looks good, Zombie," Ralph said with a smile. _Maybe fewer people will be as afraid of you now, hmm?_

"The two of you make quite the excellent team," King Candy(1) with a giddy laugh, "We didn't want to disturb your building." _Ingenious use of game mechanics._

"Ah, you saw that?" Ralph said with a sheepish grin. _I'm not quite used to people watching me and Felix 'work'._ The first time they built East Niceland all he did was move the bricks over one pile at a time, though this day's method proved to be somewhat more efficient.

"Zombie wish he had camera," Zombie said, "It make good photo opportunity." _If only.. Zangief and Clyde would absolutely love that._

"Ralph, would you mind if I had a word with you in private?" King Candy asked seriously. _There will have to be some changes.._

"Uh, sure.. We can talk over here," Ralph said confusedly as he led King Candy away, towards his stump. _What's this about?_

"Now Ralph, I understand that you're dating my daughter now," King Candy said with a laugh, "I'm happy for the both of you. There's nobody else I can trust her with more, I'd like to think.. But I would appreciate it if you would come live in the castle. Really.. I mean this in the nicest way possible." _The thought of my daughter's boyfriend sleeping in a **dump** is inconceivable. It's beyond unacceptable. He might've moved into this new apartment building for all I know, but __I can keep an eye on him much more easily at the castle._

"Oh.. About that.. Vannie already convinced me," Ralph said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, "From what I understand there are plenty of guest rooms available." He scratched the back of his neck. _You need to keep up appearances.._

"Yes! Excellent.." King Candy said seriously with the hint of a smile, "And of course I don't expect I have to tell you to be on your best behavior." He continued to smile, but somewhere between the lines was a threat. _There is a line, and you had better not cross it._

"Absolutely," Ralph said seriously, "You don't have to worry about **that**." _I'm not quite sure how exactly you mean, but I have every intention of being a 'good guy' here._

"Great!" King Candy said with a laugh, "Well that's all I wanted to say." They walked back to the others. _That's a load off my mind._

"Nothing to worry about," Ralph said with a nervous smile. Vannie cocked a brow. "So where's **Vanellope**? I haven't seen her all day oddly enough.." _She'd have normally found me by now. Is she intentionally giving me time alone with Vannie? __I somehow doubt it.._

"Oh she's busy showing some new friends around Sugar Rush," King Candy(1) said cheerfully, "Jubileena and Candlehead from Sugar Rush 2 and two soldiers from Hero's Duty." _The ones who helped catch Jet._

"Soldiers you say?" Calhoun asked curiously, "Oh.. Must be Markowski and Spears in that case." _Guess they've discovered girls exist._

* * *

"Well **Rancis** and I are going meet ourselves," little Taffyta said plainly before looking to little Candlehead, "You coming Candlehead?" _Or do you want to stick with yourself?_

"Umm.. I think I'll hang out with big me for a while," little Candlehead said, "Sorry."

"No problem. Come on Rancis," little Taffyta said as they hopped into their karts and drove off.

"She's.. **different** from the Taffyta in our game," Jubileena said. _Our Taffyta is nicer._

"Okay, so who's next?" Candlehead wondered aloud.

"Well, we could check in town," Markowski said, "We're bound to come across the others at some point."

"Ooh, good idea!" Candlehead said cheerfully. So in town they went. Little Gloyd and Swizzle were playing basketball outside little Gloyd's house with what looked more like a pumpkin than a basketball, and a makeshift hoop. They made no attempt to escape Candlehead's clutches and talked for a while.

The little versions of Adorabeezle, Minty Zaki, Crumbelina, and Snowanna were talking outside Snowanna's house. Little Adorabeezle and Minty Zaki put up a small challenge but eventually gave up, though Crumbelina and Snowanna were a bit more welcoming.

"Who's left?" Jubileena asked. _Once it's out of Candlehead's system she'll calm down._

"That would be Citrusella, Torvald, Nougetsia, and Sticky," Vanellope said with a chuckle. _The recolors are always off in their group.. It's too bad they weren't given their own unique looks. _She enjoyed watching Candlehead's excitement at 'catching' racers thoroughly. The remaining racers were captured without fail outside Citrusella's house.

"Feel better now?" Jubileena asked wryly. _It'd like to get away from as many people as possible here._

"Yep. Mission complete," Candlehead said in a satisfied tone. _That was fun._

"What about King Candy?" Vanellope asked wryly. _Although he's not __what I would call __cute._ She smirked knowingly.

"No thanks, I'm good," Candlehead said plainly. _Obvious joke, but still._

"Hmm.. It's getting kind of late isn't it?" Vanellope asked. _I still want to visit Ralph, but he's probably headed for bed by now._

"Did that much time pass already?" Jubileena asked confusedly, "We should probably head back." _Good excuse._

"It's been fun!" Candlehead said excitedly. She, Jubileena, Markowski and Spears headed back to Game Station West, where their games were located, leaving little Candlehead and Jubileena behind at little Candlehead's house.

"Would you.. like to stay over?" little Candlehead asked. _We're apparently really good friends in the future._

"Sure," little Jubileena said with a smile, "Just let me call my mom." _I don't see why not. We get along well as adults._

* * *

"Hug?" Jet asked in disbelief. _Well technically we **are** going out so it's not so out of the ordinary, right?.. Have I ever even had a hug before though? _"Okay.."_ I don't want to sound desperate or anything, but arguing would also be counter-productive. _He walked over to her and gave her a hug._ She's right.. I do feel better.. A lot better. So this is what a hug is like..  
_

"There, don't you feel better now?" Crumbelina asked as she patted him on the back. _I can only just barely imagine how much you must have needed this after that kind of life.._

Jet cleared his throat and said, "Yeah, I'm good.." _I shouldn't let myself get too comfortable.. _After a brief moment of awkward silence they went back outside and sat down where Taffyta and Rancis were still at the table nearly done eating. Jet and Crumbelina's food had gotten picked up since they weren't at the table for a while.

"Okay, um.." Taffyta said nervously. _I can't figure out how I should to apologize.. 'I'm sorry' won't cut it._ "I'm really sorry that I made you uncomfortable. It was just supposed to be a joke. You know?" _Please don't be mad at me.._

"It's okay," Jet said with a sigh, "It just takes me a while to get used to people.. I never really had friends of my own besides my brother."_ Why can't I stop talking about Set already? I've lived in his shadow my whole life, but still. He's dead now. Accept it._

Taffyta desperately fought the urge to ask how their talk went inside. _It's not my business. It's **not** my business!_

Jet glanced over to Crumbelina as if to ask her what he should say. _Should I say that we're going out? She would say so if she wanted them to know, right?_

Crumbelina broke the silence that was forming around them by softly clearing her throat. Jet looked at her expectantly, bracing for impact. "So.. Yeah, we're going out," she said sheepishly. _I guess I have to be the one to come out and say it.._

Jet sighed, somewhat in relief and scratched his head then said, "Yeah.." _She's not ashamed to admit it? That's quite shocking in itself. Though not quite as on par with her wanting to date me in the first place._

"Th-that's good. Great," Taffyta said with a nervous smile, "You two looked like you were getting along well." _Thank goodness I didn't have to ask._ They sat there talking about nothing in particular for a while.

"So **this** is where 'we' are," little Taffyta said with a triumphant smirk. She placed a strawberry lollypop in her mouth. _This is our favorite place to eat in our game after all._

"Hey," little Rancis said, "Lookin' sharp." _My hair is different, but that doesn't look bad at all. Where's the hat though? I guess it wouldn't look as good with this hairstyle.  
_

"Oh, how **cute**!" Taffyta said with a giddy smile, "I've been meaning to go look for you!" she gave her young counterpart a big hug. Rancis and little Rancis shook each other's hands. Taffyta hugged little Rancis while she was at it.

"So what brings you two here?" Crumbelina asked warmly. _I wonder if I should go meet myself as well at some point._

"Big Jubileena and Candlehead came visit us for a while," little Taffyta said with a shrug, "so we figured **we** would come here to see **you**.. So are you guys dating?" _It sure as fun looks like it. I wouldn't exactly call what me and 'my' Rancis have dating, but close enough._

Taffyta laughed and said, "Yep." _So I was like that back then too.._

"Oh, is that one of the new racers?" little Taffyta asked, "He's cute." _Rancis is better though.  
_

"Oh.. Thanks," Jet said with a nervous laugh. _Well I'm glad King Candy made this skin so well._

* * *

**Author's Note:** In this story, Litwak is a workaholic so his arcade is open longer than you'd think. Taking that and sleep into account makes for days that will seem kind of short. Plus having everything happen in a really short time span isn't exactly the best of ideas. Next chapter is the end of 'day 1'. After a few days I'll be skipping ahead on occasion.


	10. Day 1's End - Getting Some Sleep

"Well it's about time we returned," King Candy said.

"See you later, Ralph," Calhoun said wryly. _It's the only thing it could be._

"You're scary," Ralph laughed sheepishly. _How much does she know?_

"Huh? What?" Felix asked confusedly while alternating his gaze between the two. _This isn't the first time something has gone over my head. Since I'm so short.._

"He's coming live with Dad and I," Vannie beamed while excitedly hugging Ralph from the side. _Say goodbye to the dump while you can, Ralph. I'm glad none of them seem to realize that they just built an entire apartment he could live in._

"Oh! That's **wonderful**," Felix said with a sappy grin before snapping out of it, "Well, you'd better not come back **late** Ralph. I don't want to hear any excuses." He crossed his arms and put on his most serious face. _Whether you 'seal the deal' or not, you'd better be here when the arcade opens._

"**Relax**," Ralph said as he scratched the back of his head, "I'll be back with time to spare." _Let's not make a scene here. This is embarrassing enough as it is. Technically I could instead live in the apartment we just built, but I won't complain about living in the same castle as my girlfriend.._

Ralph, Vannie, and King Candy went back to the castle in Sugar Rush 2.

"Zombie happy for Ralph," Zombie said with a smile, "Zombie go back home too. Long day. Thank you again, Felix." _My words cannot properly express the magnitude of my gratitude._

"Any time, Zombie," Felix said with a smile.

"Well I suppose I'll excuse myself as well," King Candy(1) laughed.

The two of them went back to their games, leaving just Felix and Calhoun.

"Ralph is going to have his hands full," Felix said with a grin. _I imagine that living in a castle will be quite the culture shock for him. He could have lived in the apartment we just built though._

"You **bet**," Calhoun said wryly. _He's practically raring to go.._

"Not like **that**," Felix said sheepishly. _I somehow doubt Ralph is ready for that sort of thing._

"Well, you never know," Calhoun said wryly, "How about we head home as well?"

"Your place or mine?" Felix asked excitedly. _Oh, here we go!_

"Well I wouldn't want to disturb your neighbors," Calhoun said wryly. _I imagine they would be banging on the walls again._

"Jiminy jaminy.. Well we **could** break in the new penthouse," Felix said with a sly grin. _I've decided that will be my new home, it's only fitting._

"Sounds like a plan," Calhoun whispered into his ear lovingly before the two made their way inside the new apartment building and went up to the penthouse. It was fully furnished, oddly enough.

"We've got the place all to ourselves for now," Felix laughed giddily, "I'll tell Q*bert and the others tomorrow." He ran to the bedroom ahead of Calhoun. _Jaminy, I've been looking forward to this all day. It's so good having my memory back!_

"Careful not to trip," Calhoun raised her voice wryly as she casually made her way to the bedroom to join him. _It's not like you're going to start without me._

"What took you so long?" Felix asked wryly as he posed on the bed with his gloves and boots off as Calhoun entered the room. _I've been waiting._

"I see **you're** raring to go," Calhoun scoffed lovingly as she crept over to him after climbing onto the bed. _I'm getting a little impatient myself._

"I can't be the only one who regretted that we couldn't do this **last** night," Felix teased, "Jaminy, talk about a rough time.." _If possible I'd have liked to reestablish our 'connection' immediately._

"Well we get to make up for it tonight," Calhoun whispered warmly into his ear before biting it softly.

Felix giggled, "You know I'm sensitive there."

"That's the **point**," Calhoun teased as she lightly tapped his chest before pulling him into a tender kiss. _Perhaps I should have taken my armor off first.._

Felix giggled through his nose as he eased into their kiss while lovingly placing a hand on her cheek. After a moment of this he pulled himself away slowly and said, "I think we should get you out of that **armor** before going any further." He had a glint in his eyes that said he meant business. _Someday I'll get her to wear normal clothes so that we have an easier time of this.._

"I think you may be right, short stack," Calhoun chuckled.

* * *

After talking over coffee for what seemed an eternity to Jet, things finally wound down. Little Taffyta and Rancis went back to their game to call it a night, and the older Taffyta and Rancis said their farewells as well, leaving just Jet and Crumbelina at the table.

"I guess I'd better go too," Jet said warmly, "I was told to get some **sleep**, after all." _Honestly I don't know how I'm going to get to sleep though. I haven't had a decent sleep in decades really. And after everything that's happened recently.._

"I'll drive you home," Crumbelina said with a sheepish smile, "We're going the same way anyhow." _You're even cuter when you smile.._

"Somehow I knew you'd say that," Jet laughed sheepishly, "It's going to take some getting used to.. Going out, I mean." _I don't want to screw this chance up.._

"Don't worry so much about it," Crumbelina said sweetly as they walked over to her kart and got inside, "There's plenty of time." _This is a first for me too.._

"I'm sorry about some of the things I said," Jet sighed softly. _I was acting a bit unreasonable to some extent._

"Not **all** of them?" Crumbelina laughed as she drove in the direction of their houses in town. _Somehow I just can't see him as the bad guy he used to be. He's so different from what I've been told..  
_

"Well you know what I mean.." Jet said as he ran his fingers through his hair, "I'm not normally one to hide things. I'm no good at it anyway." _It's only because of how merging works that I was able to pretend to be those guys so well._

"That's one of the reasons I like you," Crumbelina said sweetly, "I don't like it when people say nice things even if they don't mean it." _If you have an opinion you should express it or not say anything at all. That's how I see it.  
_

"So there's more than one reason?" Jet asked curiously as he turned to face her with a growing smile. _This is something I feel I should know._

"Now you're fishing for compliments aren't you?" Crumbelina laughed, "Well you're **cute**, you can thank King Candy for that.." _That may be a little shallow of me to say.._

"So I'm told," Jet laughed. '_Little Taffyta' said as much_ _not long ago._

"And well, your past is **interesting**.." Crumbelina said while furrowing her brow, "Not exactly **good**, but it's interesting." _That's not really a reason why I like him though, is it? I guess I'm a little hypocritical.._

"So you want to hear about more games I've been in?" Jet asked. _There have been quite a few._

"Maybe later.. I'm guessing this is probably a sensitive subject for you," Crumbelina said, "but I'm more interested to hear more about what your brother was like.. You were obviously upset when you mentioned him earlier. You can talk to me about him.. i-if you want to.." _You seem to be shouldering a lot when it comes to him._

"I don't mind.." Jet sighed softly as he leaned into his seat, "To be honest though, I'm not sure where to begin.. Well, he wasn't the **nicest** person, that's for sure. Well he always treated **me** well, but not so much anyone else.. For the longest time he had this thing about not wanting to socialize with anybody unless they were grey-skinned. But there were only three people in the arcade that fit that description unless you counted zombies or something of that nature.. He was weird like that. And of course Turbo was even worse to be around, though he didn't have that problem." _How should I say this?  
_

"**Turbo**.. He was the one who started that whole mess.." Crumbelina said pointedly. _Isn't that what you said earlier?_

"Yeah.. Of course Set and I did the same **voluntarily**," Jet said pointedly, "The fault can't be placed on him alone.." _It was either that or be homeless._

"But it was your brother's idea to do the same, **wasn't** it?" Crumbelina asked. _You don't seem like the type that would decide that on your own._

"Kind of.." Jet said uncomfortably as he furrowed his brow, "Set made the decision, yeah, but I went along with it." _This isn't something you can just make excuses for.._

"So you **did** do it because of him," Crumbelina said softly. _See!_

"Yes and no.." Jet sighed again, "It doesn't excuse what I did, not by a long shot. But a big part of it **was** for his sake.. He was always the more reckless one. It's one of the reasons he was so good at racing.. He didn't care one jot for the consequences. The cars regenerate for each race, so damage wasn't any concern. If we died inside our game, we would regenerate as well.. I knew that he would just end up getting killed if he did it alone. But I also didn't want to be homeless and alone myself, never being relevant to anything.. It's a painful existence that nobody should have to be subjected to.. So I was **just** as selfish as he was. He was just more ruthless about it." _It's only now that I've raced __again, however, that__ I truly feel whole.._

"But if it weren't for Set.." Crumbelina said softly as she glanced over to him, "Would you **still** have done it?"

Jet sighed. _I don't have an answer for that._ "I honestly don't know," he said seriously. _I've been asking myself that since Set died.._

"Then I'd like to believe you **wouldn't** have," Crumbelina said firmly yet sweetly, "Just for the sake of argument.." _You were dependent on each other, weren't you? But you've changed, I can tell..  
_

"That's nice of you to say," Jet chuckled somberly. _If I argue anymore she'll likely get fed up with me. I waited 30 and a half years to finally have a girlfriend, I don't want to lose her in a single day.. Or at all.  
_

Crumbelina pulled up to Jet's house and sighed, "Well, we're here.."_ I've finally made up my mind about him. Well, more so than just wanting to give him a chance. As far I'm concerned the reason he did it was solely to keep his brother alive. Not being homeless and alone was just a really good added benefit.. What should I do from here?_

"Thanks for the ride," Jet said with a nervous smile as he got out of her kart. He had walked halfway to his house before he heard her feet hit the ground. He turned around, almost in shock. _What's she doing?_

"I wanted to thank you as well.." Crumbelina said softly as she slowly walked up to him, "For talking to me about everything.." Her heart was going full throttle. _I don't even know what I'm doing.. I can't just let today end like this though, can I?.._ "I know it's been hard on you, all things considered.."

"I'm glad you were willing to listen," Jet said earnestly as he hugged her tightly, "You have **no** idea how much it means to me.." _I probably just crossed a line.._

Crumbelina ran her fingers through Jet's hair as she kissed him tenderly on the lips. _I.._ "Well, I'd better go.." she giggled and smiled nervously, "I'll come pick you up when the arcade is ready to open." She skipped back to her kart. _I can't believe I just did that.. It was just earlier in the day that I thought he might not be a 'completely good guy'.. Well now that I know more about him though, I can't shake the feeling he's been suffering this whole time._

Jet stood there dumbfounded for a while as Crumbelina hopped back into her kart and drove off in the direction of her house. "How am I supposed to sleep?!" Jet nervously chuckled to himself aloud as he went inside his house, "No idea what's going on in her head.." He laid in bed, still thinking about her. _She's too nice.. Then again Taffyta and Rancis are really nice as well. I don't deserve that kind of treatment. Does it have something to do with the sugary nature of the game?_ He smiled faintly and looked over his hand in awe at how normal it was before touching a few fingers to his lips. _I love her.._ He grinned like an idiot and somehow managed to easily fall asleep.

* * *

"So wait.." Candlehead said sheepishly, "I'm dating Leon, right?" She honestly skipped a step mentally when Jubileena said they were 'close enough' to dating. _Of course I like Leon.. But I didn't even think about him as a boyfriend, that could be awesome! When did I agree to it then?_

Markowski was trying to think long before she said that how he should handle the situation. _Well I was **going** to wait a while before asking her out.. But this turn of events forces my hand.. mouth.. 'If that's alright with you' just doesn't feel right. _He kept substituting words randomly hoping something would stick. _Just saying 'yes' would definitely be no good. It implies she has no choice in the matter. _He sighed at his inability to string this one sentence together.

"Well I was going to ask you out eventually," Markowski nervously said with a smile. _I'm not completely satisfied with that.._ "But I don't want you to think that you have to just because someone said we **kind of** were." _I hope that sounded as good out loud as it did in my head._

"No no! I mean.. I'd **like** that," Candlehead frantically said with a sheepish grin, "I just.. It took me by surprise.." She giggled nervously and played with one of the strings on her pink hoodie. _So it wasn't really decided on yet. That makes a lot more sense..  
_

"So are we game?" Jubileena wryly asked Spears. _I wouldn't be interested in dating Markowski anyways, but Spears seems to have his head on straight. If it's just us four in a group I should be able to handle this.._

"Absolutely," Spears said with a smile, "Well, I'd like that anyways." _She's the one I would have picked anyways if given the choice._

"Good. Then same time tomorrow?" Jubileena asked with a smile. _Let's see if this works out._

"Sounds good to me," Markowski said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Candlehead said excitedly. _This will be awesome!_

"Affirmative," Spears said. _I should just say yes or yeah.. Affirmative is too stiff._

With that they went back to their games for the night.

* * *

"Well that turned out well!" Rancis said with a grin, "I didn't really do anything, but it all worked out." They were driving towards their homes in Taffyta's kart.

"Well you made me stay long enough for them to come back," Taffyta said softly, "That counts for something.. And you were right about Jet. I wasn't so sure at first, but now I can kind of see what Crumbelina likes about him." _His past may be dubious but he's not actually such a bad guy.._

"Like what?" Rancis chuckled curiously. _I have nothing to worry about, but I still want to know what you mean.._

"Well you know, he speaks his mind," Taffyta sheepishly said with a smile, "He didn't even once seem like he was lying to us. That takes guts." _And he's cute. Although Rancis is still cuter..  
_

"Oh, yeah I see what you mean.." Rancis chuckled again, "It's quite a surprise though.. I didn't expect him to be so forthcoming about his life before coming here.." _Even though we all already knew the basics._

"I don't think we should ask him about his brother though," Taffyta said with a frown, "I didn't want to say anything in front of him, but he looked like he was about to cry for a while.." _I guess it's a sensitive subject._

"Well his brother did **die** yesterday, after all.." Rancis sighed, "I'm more surprised he's as calm as he is about it.." _I guess when you've seen the kind of things he saw, you get a bit numb.._

"Well.. Here we are," Taffyta said as she stopped at Rancis' house, "Want me to stay over?" She smirked at him teasingly. _That **would** be nice.._

"Don't say that unless you mean it," Rancis laughed nervously. _You know I'd have you over any day._

"Well I **could**.." Taffyta said as a smile played on her lips, "But just staying over."_ I love to tease you.._

"You're going to be the death of me," Rancis said through a grin, "I'd love to have you over though." _I love it when she teases me.._

_"__Alright, well go unlock the door already," Taffyta said wryly as the two hopped out of her kart, "I'm right behind you." ____It's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before in all our four years of dating.. Well, even though that's just in our backstory. But it's the same thing, really._

_The two went inside made their way to his bedroom._

_Rancis turned out the lights and the two went to bed in each other's arms. ____I'm glad she's in such a good mood._

_"Goodnight," Taffyta scoffed.____ Someone's happy.._

_"Goodnight," Rancis scoffed. ____I hope **that's** not bothering her.._

* * *

_"__This is your room, Ralph," King Candy said warmly, "If you need anything, just call for either Sour Bill or Salty Phil. Salty Phil likes to complain, so you might want to call him first." He laughed and walked off to have a light snack before bed.__ I was going to make him his own home in town, but I can keep an eye on him so much better this way.._

"Now don't forget you have to get back to your game on time," Vannie teased. _He's** really** staying here. __She beamed excitedly._

"Yeah, I know," Ralph scoffed, "Felix worries too much- Oof."

Vannie knocked the wind out of him a little from the force of her suddenly hugging him. _I've been holding this in all day more or less.. There's always either someone around or the mood isn't right._

Ralph smiled warmly before lightly and **carefully** placing an arm around her back. _I wish I were a bit smaller so I wouldn't have to worry about crushing people when I touch them.. How am I going to make this work?_

"Alright, I'd better get to bed," Vannie sighed into his chest in a satisfied tone, "I'll see ya tomorrow Ralphie." _I love those arms of his.._

Ralph watched as she skipped over to her room and went inside. _I wish I could have at least kissed her.. _"Okay.. Nice to meet you bed," he said as he closed the door and sat on the bed. _It's soft. Almost sickeningly so.. Okay, well maybe not **that** bad._ "This is going to take some getting used to.." He laid down before realizing the light was still on and groaned._ I don't feel like getting up to turn it off.. Should I get Sour Bill or Salty Phil to turn it off for me? _He chuckled. _No, that'd be a little too mean._

* * *

Vannie looked at the framed picture of her deceased parents, once again reliving the horrific memory of their deaths. _Why do I keep __**doing**__ this to myself? __They__ were never even in the game to begin with, but.._ She swallowed hard and held back a few tears. _I miss you guys so much.. You would have loved Ralph too, I know it.. _She sighed and placed the photo back on her dresser before turning off the light and curling herself up in bed while holding a pillow._ How should I pick on him tomorrow?_ _I wish I had at least kissed him.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so that was the first day of this story. Markowski's first name is Leon in case you haven't read 'A Sudden Surge'. Also, in 'A Sudden Surge' I explained that King Candy is Vannie's adoptive father, her parents having died in a crash when she was 9, just before Sugar Rush takes place. I wasn't quite sure where I was going with that at the time, but it's mentioned here for consistency and it's expanded upon later as well.

In this story Taffyta and Rancis have been going out for about 4 years now in their backstory, though they haven't actually 'done anything' yet, in case you're wondering. Not every pairing will progress at the same pace, naturally. I mean, one is already married after all.

Also here's a note from the future. In case you're worried about your preferred pairing/pairings doing poorly.. It gets a lot better. This story will be long-running, so there's plenty of time for them to get into the swing of things. Most of them have only just met after all.


	11. Wake Up

"Huh?!" Ralph woke up screaming as Vannie blared an air horn from the door. _What was that?!_

"What happened, Ralph?! You were supposed to be at your game **hours** ago!" Vannie said worriedly. _Haha.. __Sorry, Ralph. I couldn't resist._

"What?!" Ralph said as he struggled to get up, finally managing to get his feet on the floor, though he was still sitting down. The softness of the bed made it difficult. _I overslept?! Wait, where?_ _Sugar Rush 2, __r__ight.._

"Relax, I'm **kidding**," Vannie said wryly as she tucked the air horn away into her hidden inventory, "You **were** taking too long to get up though." _I wanted to try something.._

Ralph ran his hands through his hair and sighed, "Don't do that to me." _I nearly had a game over._

"Well it's no fun if you sleep the whole day," Vannie said as she wrinkled her nose, "The arcade **will** open soon, you know.. And you left the light on." _You're so s__illy._

"I know.." Ralph grumbled, "I didn't feel like getting up to turn it off." _Beds aren't so bad, unless you're trying to get out of them.._

Vannie groaned internally. _What is it that I really want to say?_ _I really should have kissed him last night. Or at least I wanted to. I still do.. Why am I shy about this one thing? I need to get over that pronto. __It's so__ frustrating.. _"I'm sorry about before, by the way," she said. She practically forced the words out. _For n__ot kissing __you.__. Why did I apologize for it __though__? It's __**me**__ I'm sorry for._

"Huh?" Ralph asked confusedly, "What do you mean?" _Did you do something wrong? The hug?_ _You're sorry for hugging me?_ He scratched his head. Before he could work it out in his head any further, Vannie hugged him again and kissed him lightly on the lips. It was more like a peck, really.

"There," Vannie said sheepishly as she slowly stood up straight again and shrugged, "Well, it's better than nothing anyway." _Why'd I have to say it like that?_ She groaned. _Now **I** look silly._

"Problem?" Ralph scoffed before a smile played on his lips._ So it wasn't my fault. Well that's a relief._

"Great. Now **you're** the one teasing **me**," Vannie pouted, "I just wanted a kiss, but it wasn't good enough. There, I said it." _We'll have to keep trying. I have an idea of how it should work, but.._

"Might want to try later," Ralph scoffed, "Stinkbreath.." _I really need to get that under control. __But __I can't help that I __**regenerate**__ filthy.._

"Good point," Vannie said while wrinkling her nose again. _He does still need a bit of work in that regard. But it'll have to wait until the arcade closes._

"Alright," Ralph said as he managed to get out of the bed, "I'd better get to my game before Felix has a cow."_ I should_ _also talk to King Candy about them maybe having the Random Roster Races a little later so I can see both Vannie **and** Vanellope's races._

"What was all that racket?!" Salty Phil asked bitterly as he scampered up to the doorway. He was a 'cousin' of Sour Bill's.. In a way, at least. They weren't related or anything, but he was made in a similar style. Except Salty Phil was a giant salted peanut with little cashew hands and feet rather than a green sour ball.

"That would be **me**!" Vannie teased as she danced around him. _Problem?_

"I **knew** ye were trouble, laddie!" Salty Phil said as he glared daggers at Ralph, "Bad influence I say!" He scampered off, mumbling to himself. "Burns me britches.. Don't even **have** any to burn.." _If it were __**me**__ in charge we'd throw __'im__ out._

"And **that's** Salty Phil," Vannie said wryly, "He enjoys complaining."

"Yes, I've seen him before," Ralph said with a smirk. _Poor guy had to clean up my leng__th__y water trail the first time I met him. I can't believe I did that. Was I really like that back when I first got plugged in?_

"Well, I'll see you after work," Vannie said longingly as she hugged him again. _When will the next time we can be alone be?_

"Don't you go losing now," Ralph said wryly as he cautiously placed a hand over her back. _As if that'd happen._

"As if!" Vannie said wryly as she tapped him on the forehead. _But I know you already know that._

Ralph eventually got back to his game, receiving a few strange looks while on the way. He simply smirked and pointed at the onlookers he noticed with both hands and said, "Ayyy!"

Like Ralph told Felix, there was time to spare.

* * *

Calhoun was sitting on the bed, wearing Felix's hat. She was putting her armor on in her and Felix's new penthouse. Felix was pacing around the room nervously, already dressed for work, minus his hat.

"Would you stop that?" Calhoun teased. _He'll __**be**__ here, relax._

"It just feels as though Ralph will be late," Felix said worriedly, "I can't drop the feeling." _It's like that time he fell asleep in the washroom at Tapper's all over again._

"Yes, well, he **does** have a lot of reason to stay put doesn't he?" Calhoun asked wryly. _If I know Vanellope's type any.._

"Ralph's mind doesn't work quite like that," Felix said while scratching his head. _Where's my hat? _"He probably even had to have someone point out to him that Vannie **likes** him." _I'd be shocked if they even __locked lips __yet._

"I guess he is a **little** thick-headed," Calhoun scoffed. _I would know, I knocked him upside the head more than a few times already._

"But still, jeepers.." Felix said with a sheepish grin, "I never would have figured Ralph moving from his stump. As unorthodox a home as it is.. He even built a house around it before the game got reset." _He had __**plenty**__ opportunity to live in one of the many penthouses.._

"The man's in **love**, what do you expect?" Calhoun asked wryly as she finished putting on her last piece of armor, "To be honest, he's **better off** where he's at. It's not like he'll quit his job.. Anyways, I've got to make sure my ducks are in a row. See you after hours." She put his hat back on his head and lovingly bent down for a deep kiss before heading back to Hero's Duty. _Hopefully the boys didn't get into too much trouble. Or else._

"I guess I'd better go down as well," Felix said cheerfully as felt at the honeyglow burning in his cheeks. _The Nicelanders must be in a frenzy with us not ready yet._

There was nothing to worry about, with Ralph being ready and waiting by the time Felix got there. They flashed each other a thumbs up as the arcade opened. It was **Felix** who was almost late, not Ralph.

* * *

Taffyta gently shook Rancis while blowing into his ear and said, "I think it's about time you woke up. If you don't get up now we're going to be late." _Not quite true, but I want him to wake up all the same. __She stood back up straight and crossed her arms playfully._

Rancis groaned as he stretched and rubbed his eyes. For a moment he didn't realize he was awake, since Taffyta woke him up in a not-at-all-rude manner. The opposite of what he had expected.

"Good morning," Rancis said with a wide grin as he rolled onto his back, "Did you sleep well?" _I know I did.. __How did she get out of bed without me waking up first?_

"I always do," Taffyta teased, "By the way, you've got **nothing** to eat. I wish I had known that before." _What has he been eating?_

"Sorry, I keep forgetting about that," Rancis said sheepishly, "I was starving until the arcade closed yesterday." _I have a feeling it'll be the same today._

"What?!" Taffyta asked worriedly, "That's **all** you ate?! What am I going to **do** with you?!" _We're going to have to fix that! Seriously! I can't believe this.._

"Is that **actual** concern I hear?" Rancis asked with a grin. _It's refreshing. Usually she'd hide it._

"Well **yeah**!" Taffyta laughed incredulously, "I can't believe you let yourself go that long without eating.." _I g__uess __I__'ll have to __bring him__ shopping.._

"How long until the arcade opens?" Rancis asked curiously as he glanced at a small, black alarm clock on a nearby teak nightstand which blinked in red an incorrect time. _I still need to set that clock.._

"Maybe long enough to eat a **little** something, I don't know.." Taffyta shrugged, "Come on, we'll go grab something to eat at my house." Her house wasn't but a few minutes away.

* * *

Jubileena woke up and tiredly rubbed her eyes before laughing to herself. _Oh yeah, I have a boyfriend now, don't I? How did **that** happen? I'm not a people person to begin with.. _She sighed as a smile continued to play on her lips. _Okay so first off, bath time._

She took a hot bath since she tended to wake up early and it helped her focus. _What should I talk to him about? I don't really know him all that well.. Actually, I don't even know his __**first name**__ yet. I can't believe I didn't ask. And I even told Markowski off for that.. I need to work on how I talk to people myself._ _Spears and I are technically going out, but we're hardly even friends, really._

"This just won't do.." she chided herself as she got dressed in a clean set of her racing attire, "What would Candlehead talk about?" _Okay yeah, not really the thing to go by.._ "Maybe I should ask him where he usually goes after hours.. He had to do **something** with his free time before we came along.." _I hope it's not boring. __Okay, now food.._

* * *

Candlehead woke up and shook her head a bit before hopping out of bed excitedly. _I'm hungry. Food._

"I wonder what sort of kart Leon would make.." she mused aloud as she cheerfully made her way to the kitchen to fix herself a bowl of cereal.

She ate the marshmallows first and slowly ate the rest after it had gone soggy. _Why can't there be a cereal that's just marshmallows? More importantly __though__, what should I talk to Leon about? __She chuckled, "I can't believe I thought we had started going out without me having a say in it.." ____I was just surprised by how jujube said it, that's all.. I hope he doesn't think I'm stupid because of that.__ She wrinkled her nose. ____Nah, he probably doesn't.._

* * *

Crumbelina knocked on the door to Jet's house. _He'd better be ready by now.. I still can't believe I kissed him. Not that I regret it.._ She smiled. _But still, I surprised myself._

"Uno momento por favor," Jet said cheerfully in a slightly garbled voice just loud enough for to hear, "I'm almost ready." He was busy brushing his teeth. _I wish I knew these refrigerators came empty. My __fault for not thinking about that. I'm not about to break a piece of the house and eat it.._

Crumbelina stood there waiting with her arms crossed. _I wonder if the door is even locked. Should I check?.._

The door slowly opened. "Sorry. Plenty of time, right?" Jet asked with a smile, "I was worried I might have overslept." _I should really set that clock._

"Yep, plenty of time," Crumbelina said with a nervous smile, "Sorry if I made it awkward before.." _Well you didn't seem to **mind** me kissing you at least, but all the same it's stuck in my head.._

"Awkward as in how?" Jet asked with a grin. _The kiss, right? It was great, don't worry about it._

"No, nothing," Crumbelina beamed sheepishly, "I'm glad to see you're in such a good mood." _I was worried he __woul__d mope all the time._

"Well, I just thought about what you said, well and **other things** too," Jet said sheepishly as he rubbed his neck, "But you were right when you said that I need to stop 'throwing myself a pity party' as you put it. Besides, I get to **race** today, I'm excited. Look at these nerves." He held his hand out flat and shook it rapidly on purpose to emulate bad nerves. _I **am** excited, that's no lie._

_Other things, hmm?_ Crumbelina laughed, "Alright, well we'd better get to the track or the others may panic." _We're on the roster. We definitely don't want to get put out of order._

There were a few stares as they arrived together. Nobody was glaring daggers though, which was a relief to Jet.

"Good luck, Jet," Swizzle said with a smug grin. _I may have come in 9th during the Random Roster Race, but I'm not in the mood to lose to a newbie in a **real** race. __I don't know __what__ to think about his past, but if King Candy says so, I'll let it slide._

"Thanks. You too Swizzle," Jet said with a smile. _I'm glad I made sure to memorize the names of the other racers. It's the least I can do._

The other participants of the day's races greeted him. Jubileena was a **bit** more hesitant, but did so at the behest of Candlehead. They didn't expect him to be as approachable as he was, thinking back on how they kind of **were** the ones that caught him in the first place. Of course he was a bit nervous talking to them to say the least.

"Sorry about the trouble," Jet said sheepishly, "You know, the whole.. Yeah." _That came out weird._

"**Right**," Jubileena said plainly, "Well, we won't give you a hard time, since you're one of us now. Just behave." She tried to smile, but she honestly didn't know if it would be appropriate. _I don't exactly like making enemies.. I probably shouldn't have added the 'just behave' bit. Why am I always like this?_

"O-oh, no worries.." Jet said with a nervous smile, "I'm a changed man, in more ways than one." _Appearance counts for something too around here apparently._

"That's great!" Candlehead said innocently. _It's hard to hold grudges, and it's not like he did anything to me anyways._ _His **brother** on the other hand would have been a different story after what he did to me.._ Set had knocked her out from behind while she was replacing a tire on her kart, and tied her up with licorice rope to use her as a potential hostage. Not that she **remembered** any of that actually happening since she was untied by the time Jubileena woke her up and Set had been scared off.

Taffyta and Rancis finally arrived after all this with not long to spare before the arcade opened.

* * *

Garret and Spears were eating in the Mess Hall after getting ready for the arcade's opening. The Mess Hall was cold and metallic, much like the gameplay area just outside, but it still held some semblance of a welcoming atmosphere. It was gently lit by the soft glow of lighted tiles on the ceiling and the food 'wasn't bad', though it wasn't even as good as the food at BurgerTime. This was a military facility after all, not a restaurant.

"Hey Markowski, if you don't mind me asking.." Spears said somewhat reluctantly. _I know it's really none of my business.._

"Yeah?" Markowski asked while in the middle of a bite. _Fire away._

"What was it that Sarge pulled you aside for yesterday, before the arcade opened?" Spears asked before taking a bite of his food as well. _It seemed kind of serious, the way she slammed you upside the head with her helmet._

"Well.." Markowski said nervously in a hushed tone, "I wasn't really tipped off to someone having messed with our code.. I wasn't going to do anything drastic, but I was tired of being the only guy in the entire game who couldn't make it to the top of the building. I wasn't really thinking straight at the time.." _I could have accidentally ruined the entire game if I hadn't been lucky enough to figure out how to fix things.._

"I see.." Spears said plainly with a nod as he let it sink in, "So in the end, what happened?" _Did he make himself better? Fix himself? He definitely improved a lot.._

"Set messed with my files to make me a terrible companion to the player," Markowski breathed deeply, "Among other things.. Don't you remember?" _He had control of your body when he did it._

Garret opened his mouth to speak but hesitated a moment as he suddenly recalled Set doing that while in his body, "..Unfortunately, yeah.." Spears sighed, "If I had remembered **sooner**, I could have maybe fixed it back myself.. Everything he ever did while posing as me is all still in my head apparently.. I'm just glad Sarge fixed the Cy-bugs already without me having to go in there. I'm not so confident I could have fixed it right." _It's not like Set explained what he was doing as he did it._

"I only put myself back to normal," Markowski said seriously, "I just knew something was wrong and had to be changed.." _I could feel it in my code. __That's probably what he meant before.._

"Well at least we got girlfriends out of this ordeal, right?" Garret chuckled sheepishly. _Who knows how well this will go? Set only seemed to have eyes for Sarge, so it's not like I ever had a girlfriend either. __And __**Loya**__.. I don't know what he wants to do, but he doesn't seem to be interested in talking to us about it._

"You better believe it," Markowski chuckled dryly, "I'm just glad that we both got the one we would have picked if given the choice." _Minty is a sweetheart towards me already. Meanwhile Jubileena is a bit standoffish. Good luck, Spears._

"Well it could have probably still worked out the other way around," Garret said wryly, "But yeah, I think it works out better this way." _Jubileena just needs a bit of time to get used to us, I'm sure. We've only known each other two days._

"Alright ladies, straighten your laces," Calhoun barked as she entered the Mess Hall, "**Markowski**. **Spears**. Follow me.." She motioned for them to follow her to the until-then empty Barracks. _I'm_ _at least this considerate. _Markowski and Spears knew it had to be about them and the girls, considering they were the only two singled out. "Now, I understand you were in Sugar Rush 2 earlier. With girls." She cocked a brow and crossed her arms.

"Affirmative," Markowski and Spears said in unison. _There shouldn't be anything wrong with that._

"Alright then.." Calhoun said firmly with a nod, "You'd better not have any ill intentions with those girls or you'll wake up next with **pieces missing**." _And you know which pieces._

"Yes ma'am!" Markowski and Spears said in unison once again as they both cringed slightly. _Ouch.._

"Good boys," Calhoun sighed deeply, "So long as we're clear on that, I'm happy for ya. Dismissed." They walked back to the others just as the arcade opened and waited for a quarter alert. _I suppose I'll tease them about it at some point, but for now.._ _It's make your mommas proud time._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I just **had** to get all that done in one chapter so that the next can be nothing but arcade after hours ;).


	12. Ralph Learns About Jet

As the arcade closed, Ralph was just about to run to the mine carts leading to Game Station West so he could watch Vannie race again when Felix called out to him.

"Hey brother, got a second?" Felix asked. _Jaminy.. I hate getting into your business like this.. But I've just __**got**__ to know._

"Uh, sure thing Felix," Ralph said as he stopped in his tracks, "What's on your mind?" _This had better not make me late.._

"I **hate** to pry.." Felix said hesitantly, "But I was just wondering how everything went, you know. I mean, you don't have to go into **detail** or anything like that. I'm just curious what it was like living at the castle is all.. Not that I meant.. Well, you know.." _Welp, I messed up.. Please don't get **too** mad.._

"Relax Felix, I get ya," Ralph sighed as he leaned against the apartment building, "It was a lot better at the castle than I expected.. It was weird, sleeping in a bed. Weird getting **out** of it too. Nothing.. special happened or anything.." Ralph scratched his neck. _Great.. I just had to say it like that didn't I?_

Felix cocked his brow and asked, "Nothing.. **special**?" He tried to hide the grin creeping onto his face, but he failed miserably. _Oh __my land__, brother. __T__his just made my day._

"Well look, were you asking about **that** or not?" Ralph asked in a very annoyed tone, trying not to take that grin personally. _I __**knew**__ you would react like this. I shouldn't have said '__Nothing special__' __happened__.._

"Sorry, brother," Felix laughed, "It's just.. No!" He angrily waved his hands around. "I'm wrong for laughing." He sighed. "I was just curious is all. You seemed pretty happy all day. I'm pretty sure that one kid saw you grinning up a storm." _Sorry Ralph! I didn't mean to laugh. I've got to stop that.._

"I've just been having a good day," Ralph said sheepishly, "Wait.. What **is** today?" _Let's change the subject, okay?_

"Wednesday, why?" Felix asked. _I'll answer that, but don't think you're off the hook yet._

"Oh, okay. Nevermind," Ralph said, "Tomorrow is a Bad-Anon meeting is all." _Good, it worked.._

"Oh, alright," Felix chuckled, "Did you at least kiss her?" The grin slapped itself back onto his face. _Didn't work at all, Ralph. __S__orry. Last question, promise._

"Are you going to keep asking about it?" Ralph sighed frustratedly, "Yeah, okay. Well more like she kissed **me**.." _Go ahead, laugh. I __**dare**__ you.._

"You're gonna have to be a smidge more forward, Ralph," Felix said sincerely, "Now I'm not saying to **rush** or anything. That's no good.. But just.. Be more confident, yeah?" _I said I'd stop laughing, and I mean it._

"Yeah, sure.." Ralph said as he rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna be late to watch the race if I'm any later than this. See ya." _Easier said than done, Felix. __He _ran off to Sugar Rush 2 at full speed. _I really need to talk to either King Candy about changing the race times. Sorry Vanellope, maybe after the race we can head over there.._

"Well, at least he got a kiss," Felix said happily to himself, "I'm rootin' for ya buddy." _I'd love to tell Tammy about this, but Ralph would kill me if he found out.. At least there's no party to worry about tonight. _He ran off to Hero's Duty to see his dynamite gal.

* * *

Jet sighed happily._ Can you say best day ever? Because I can! I haven't felt like this since Turbo Time. I dare say I feel better than back then..  
_

"Yeah, well don't get too full of yourself," Jubileena said with a reserved smile, "..I didn't mean for it to sound that rude.." _I __**really**__ need to work on talking to people.._

"Don't worry about it," Jet said sheepishly as he took his helmet off until it was time to race again, "I'm just really having a good day." _You're right though, I shouldn't be so acting so happy.. But I am.. I can't help it. I won! Well, someone was playing as me, but I still won!__ "You and Candlehead did pretty good yourselves, you know?" ____Why are my ears burning?_

_"Thanks," Jubileena said. ____I guess him being here isn't so bad if he's really like this._

_"Congratulations, Jubileena!" Candlehead said excitedly as she gave her a hug from the side, "Hey Jet. You did pretty good too." She beamed. ____So far he's being a good boy. That's great!_

_"So did you," Jet said with a grin. ____She's energetic.._

_"Thanks," Candlehead beamed. ____Yep, he's nice now._

_Jet suddenly noticed Crumbelina talking to Vannie. "Oh, I should probably go talk to Crumbelina," he chuckled nervously, "I'm glad there's no hard feelings by the way.." ____I probably should have excused myself better.._

_"Bye," Jubileena said with a nod. ____Yeah, he was talking to her in the stands all during yesterday's open hours.._

_"Later," Candlehead said cheerfully. ____I wonder when Leon will get here._

* * *

_"Ralph is taking longer than expected," Vannie sighed to herself. She didn't even bother getting out of her kart yet._

"Who's Ralph?" Crumbelina asked with a smile as she leaned against Vannie's kart. _I__'m sure I__ already know the answer, but I want to hear you say it, sorry._

"Oh, hey Crumbelina," Vannie said sheepishly, "He's my boyfriend." _Somehow that doesn't sound quite right. Not sure why.. __There should be a better word for boyfriend._ "He's the real big guy that will probably be here any minute now. He's easy to spot." _And he'd better show up soon._

"Oh, I think I saw him watching the Random Roster Race yesterday," Crumbelina said wryly, "At least if it's the one I'm thinking of." _Yep, that's exactly what I thought._

"So what are you up to lately?" Vannie asked wryly. _Come to think of it this is the first time I've even talked to her since we got plugged in.._

"Oh, you know.. This and that.." Crumbelina said sheepishly, "So what do you think of Jet so far?" _Well.. I should have worded that better somehow. There's no way that got past her._

"I haven't really talked to him much, other than saying hi earlier," Vannie said as she slowly drummed her fingers across the pretzel steering wheel of her kart, "I'm not quite sure what to make of him yet." Crumbelina nodded. "Why do you ask?" Vannie grinned wryly. Jet's ears were burning but he couldn't figure out why. _He's your boyfriend or someone you like, just say it. Say it. __**Say it**__.._

"Does nothing get past you?" Crumbelina asked sheepishly. _I knew it.._

"Well I'm sure he must be a good enough guy if **you're** interested in him," Vannie said wryly. _Dad did tell me __all about __what happened. I __shouldn__'t really say that though.._

"He doesn't seem to think so though," Crumbelina sighed, "He's still thinking about everything that happened, though I can't really blame him, I guess._"__ I wouldn't be interested in him if he **didn't** feel so bad about what he'd done.. Why did Set have to ruin everything for him? I wish I was there to slap him upside the head __or something__._

"Well I wouldn't worry too much about it," Vannie said sweetly as Jet walked over. _Speak of the devil._

"Hey," Jet said with a smile. _I'm coming talk to you in case you're talking about me. Call me paranoid. __H__mm.. Well if __**Crumbelina**__ was talking about me though, I'm sure it was nothing bad.._

"Nice job today," Crumbelina said sweetly. _I hope __he__ didn't hear us talking about __him__. Play it cool.._

"You too," Jet said sweetly. _You won more than I did though. Well.. Vannie did do better than both of us, but I'd better not bring that up._

* * *

_Ralph eagerly boarded the train to Sugar Rush 2, joining up with Markowski and Spears by coincidence. ____It's those two, huh? No surprise there, going by what King Candy and Calhoun said last night._

"Hey Ralph," Spears said with a half-knowing smile. _Is he here for the same reason we are?_

"Hey Spears. Hey Markowski," Ralph said with a wry smile and nod as he sat down in one of the large, grey-cushioned leather seats, "What brings you to Sugar Rush 2?"_ Gotta be the girls.._

"Oh you know.. girls," Spears said with a nonchalant shrug. _I hope I didn't sound too full of myself just then.._ _But you're here for the same reason, aren't you __Ralph__? Don't lie now.._

Ralph laughed and said, "That sounds about right." _Maybe I should visit Hero's Duty more often. I hardly know them.. Well at least their names are on their armor so it's not like I can forget who they are. Oh, but then there's the Cy-bugs.. Maybe I shouldn't._

"And you?" Markowski asked dryly. _I still haven't forgiven you from before, but if you want to play nice, fine. __Just__ don't expect me to let you weasel out of this question._

"Oh you know.. Just coming watch the race, if I'm not too late that is," Ralph said nonchalantly. _Maybe I should have just gone ahead and reused Spears' line.. No, no. I couldn't do that. I mean I'm hardly used to having a girlfriend as it is, let alone talking about it.._

"Which racer?" Markowski asked smugly._ Oh no you don't, Ralph. I know quite well why you're here. Don't even try to hide it._

Ralph thought for a while. _Why you.. How should I answer that? I could care less what his reaction is, but I at least don't want to sound stupid. Should I say 'Vannie' or 'Vanellope __v__on Schweetz'? Does he even know her nickname? I'd better not take too long to answer.._ "Vanellope von Schweetz," he said with a smirk. _In the end I guess that's the safest bet, isn't it?_

"Oho.." Markowski said wryly, "I see." _Impressive, __going after a princess__. But why'd __she__ have to be the girl that beat Minty in that race yesterday? __Come to think of it, isn't that also the girl always riding on his shoulder? I guess that makes sense why he would like her.. I bet that gets awkward though.  
_

"And you?" Ralph asked wryly. _Well if we're getting all personal you'd better have a name all nice and picked out, buddy._

"Going by the roster, I'm with Candlehead. Spears here is with Jubileena," Markowski said smugly. _Of course Minty sounds better.._ _Did you think I wasn't prepared for that question? Sorry to disappoint you, __Ralph. Actually, no. I'm not sorry. I lied._

"I see," Ralph scoffed. _Yeah I know the girls you mean. Come to think of it weren't they the ones that caught that Turbo Twin guy the other day__ too__?_

They finally arrived in Sugar Rush 2 and headed for the track where the racers were mostly sitting around in their karts, chatting.

"Oh, there's Ralph!" Vannie said excitedly as his figure approached. Markowski and Spears were right behind him for a while but headed to Candlehead and Jubileena. _Finally! Now, don't make a fool of yourself.. Oh wait, nevermind. Go ahead and do that __if you want. It's funny__._

"Nice to meet you, Ralph," Crumbelina said warmly. _Oh, I probably should have said my name.._

"You must be.. Crumbelina," Ralph said with a grin. _I hope I got the pronunciation right. It's a good thing I paid attention to the roster yesterday. That is her name right? I hope I didn't remember wrong.. My memory is still fuzzy on some names, but it's all there.._

"That's right," Crumbelina beamed, "And this guy here is Jet." She lightly grabbed Jet by the shoulders. _Now say something nice, Jet. Oh, I hope he doesn't bring up the past again.. **Please** don't.._

"I see," Ralph said with a nod, "Nice to meet you, Jet." _For some reason __he__ seem__s__ familiar. Did I meet __him__ before?_

"Well technically we've met before.." Jet said without thinking. _I shouldn't have said that.. Well, maybe it will be fine. I __**hope**__ it will be fine.._

"Oh," Ralph said, "Must have slipped my mind, sorry." _What does he mean technically? Well I guess I did meet him before. I can't place where though.._

"He's the guy from before, Ralph," Vannie said softly, "Don't get mad at him or anything though."_ I can't say for sure if I would have done the same thing as Dad, but I don't want you making things worse __for anyone__. __He's been a good person so far since joining this game.._

"Who?" Ralph asked confusedly. _Should I be angry at him for something? I **would** rather not get angry.. Maybe it's better if I don't know.._

"Uh.. She means I was the guy in the Fungeon," Jet said nervously as he scratched his head._ Well there goes my good mood. Serves me right, I guess._

"No way.." Ralph said dryly as he crossed his arms, "You look nothing like the Turbo Twins.. Oh, well I guess that doesn't mean anything now that I think about it." Ralph had taken a noticeably less friendly tone with him, but not quite hostile. _Why __isn't he__ in the Fungeon anymore? If Vanellope finds out she'll have a cow.._ "Well, I'm sure there must be **some** explanation as to why you're not locked up, so I won't ask about it, but just don't tell Vanellope whatever you do.. Oh, well I don't mean **this** Vanellope.." _I shouldn't have had to specify that though.._

"You mean the other one. From Sugar Rush," Jet said nervously, "Yes, I understand completely.." _Telling her is the first thing on my list of things **not **to do. __Well, right under 'going Turbo' again.._

"Good," Ralph said dryly before clearing his throat, "So you're **that** Jet then, I take it." _I'd better not make the situation worse.. I'll just ask King Candy about it __after the race._

"Yes.. Set isn't alive anymore, in case you're wondering.." Jet said solemnly, "You can ask Sergeant Calhoun all about it if you'd like. She had the final say." _Well, I suppose Felix was the one who made up her mind for her though if I remember correctly. Felix __is __a __good__ man.. I still have no idea why they let me __live__ though.. Not that I'm complaining._

"**Right****,**" Ralph said with a nod. _I hope Vannie isn't getting mad at me right now.._

* * *

"**So** glad we ate before the arcade opened," Rancis said with a wide grin, "I'm starving already." _In other words we should go eat as soon as the race is over. _

"Well that's your own fault for not having food at your house!" Taffyta teased with an incredulous smile. _Hang in there, we'll finish the race and get something to eat as soon as possible._

"I know, I know," Rancis said, "I'll get some food today. Promise." _It'd be great if she stays over again tonight.. To be honest I'd rather her move in with me, but I don't know if I should say that just yet.._

"You'd better," Taffyta scoffed, "I wonder what they're talking about over there." She looked over at Ralph's group. _Looks pretty intense going by.. What was his name again? Ralph, I think Vannie said.. Yeah, going by Ralph's expression.._

"Looks a little serious," Rancis said as he glanced over. _I hope it's not too obvious that we're looking at them._

"You think maybe we should go over?" Taffyta asked. _Please talk me out of it, I'd really rather not get mixed up with that._

"I don't know.." Rancis said reluctantly, "It might make the situation worse.. Looks like Candlehead and Jubileena have some company again today." _Quickly change targets. I hope I didn't misfire._

"I wonder if they're dating," Taffyta mused aloud. _Why do I immediately go to that line of thinking? But it **does** look like it, right?_

"You **always** wonder that," Rancis laughed. _But you're right, it does look like that._

"..True," Taffyta said with a smirk, "But it sure looks like it every time. And I'm usually right, or end up being right anyway." _I dare you to prove me wrong on that._

"Well you want to go ask them?" Rancis teased._ Don't do it.. You remember what happened with Jet.._

"N-no.. Not this time, but let's go talk to them anyway," Taffyta said, "I miss hanging out with Candlehead." _Well really we only just got plugged in so it's not like it's our fault._

"Oh hey Taffyta, Rancis!" Candlehead said excitedly as the two walked up, "This is Leon, and this is Spears.. Oh.. Or would you prefer to be called 'Markowski'?" _Use your first name more Leon! Markowski just sounds so impersonal._

"Oh, either one works," Markowski said with a grin._ Well yeah I would prefer to be called Leon, but I'm not about to make a big deal out of it._

"**My** first name is Garret," Spears said with a grin, "..Just in case you were wondering." Jubileena noticeably perked up. She wanted to be the one to ask him what his first name was, but at least now she knew what it was. _What was that, Jubileena? _He chuckled to himself._ Come to think of it did she even know what my first name was until now? That must be it.. I think we should talk some more or something. Maybe I could invite her to Tapper's.. Would she want to go to a bar though?_

"Well it's nice to meet you, Leon and Garret," Taffyta said with a smile, "Well, like Candlehead said, I'm Taffyta, and this is my boyfriend Rancis."_ I want to ask so badly.. But I can't._

"Nice to meet you," Rancis said with a grin, "So what brings you two here?" _Hang in there Taffyta. This should get about the same answer you're looking for._

"They came to see us," Jubileena said with a smirk. _Why am I in such a good mood all of a sudden?_

Taffyta felt giddy.. _That just about proves it right there, thanks Rancis! You're a life saver._

"Yep!" Candlehead said happily. _Of course I still don't know much about Leon.. I wonder what his favorite color is. Come to think of it, doesn't he already call me by my first name? That's so sweet.. Every day it's Candlehead this, Candlehead that. I have a name you know! Minty Angelcake! Don't get upset. Don't let it get to you. Stupid game developers. What kind of nickname is Candlehead?_

"Now now, everyone," King Candy laughed excitedly over the loudspeaker, "I think it's about time we had our Random Roster Race! Places, places." _Oh dear, Ralph is talking to Jet.. Maybe I should have told Ralph about him already.._

* * *

Just before, in Hero's Duty..

"I have arrived!" Felix said confidently while raising his hands dramatically, "..Too corny?" _Yeah.. definitely too corny. Why did I think it was a good idea to say that in the first place?_

"A bit," Calhoun said wryly, "Say.. You interested in a bit of friendly espionage?"_I bet Markowski and Spears headed straight there. Ralph **is** there without a doubt._

"Ooh, Ralph, right? Now **that's** a good idea," Felix said excitedly, "There's no way he's going to miss his girl's race! Maybe there's still time.." _Oh, Tammy you just know how to push all my buttons!_

They quickly made their way to Sugar Rush 2 and took a seat in the stands. The seats were mostly empty in the back, luckily for them.

"Look, there he is," Felix whispered. _Get down, or he'll see us.. _They ducked down behind a few other spectators hoping Ralph wouldn't notice.

Ralph, Leon, and Garret took their seats in the stands. There was plenty room to sit. Ralph happened to notice that Lucy, Mary, and Nel were sitting in the front row talking to each other excitedly. _How long were they here?_ _I didn't know they were even interested in races.. Oh right, they must be here because of Vannie. Of **course** that's why they're here._ He shook his head and chuckled before someone tapped on his shoulder.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice us," Felix said while grinning up a storm. _You must be **really** focused on Vannie. Don't burn a hole through her with that laser vision of yours._

"How'd you get behind me?" Ralph asked as he furrowed his brow._ Since when did you become a ninja? And Calhoun as well.._

"All we did was scoot over, brother," Felix said chuckled, "I see three of ours are here as well." He looked over at Lucky, Mary, and Nel. _That's sweet of them to come visit Vannie like this. She must have really made a good impression at the party last night._

"**Them** I saw," Ralph said pointedly, "**You're** sneakier than I give you credit for." _How long were they watching me? Are they here just to watch me? I bet they are.._

"Here to watch the girls are you?" Calhoun asked wryly. She directed that not only at Ralph, but also at Leon and Garret who were sitting just in front of Ralph. _Seems there's nothing to worry about with them. At least for now.._

"That's the general consensus around here," Ralph said reluctantly, "So I understand **you're** the one to talk to about Jet." _I hope there's a **good** explanation for this.._

"I'll tell you afterwards," Calhoun said as she rolled her eyes before briefly turning her gaze to Felix. _More like he should ask **you**, Felix.. Otherwise I don't know if I'd have let him off the hook so easy. Games got unplugged. You can't **fix** that with a sob story. At least he doesn't seem to be causing trouble.. Maybe it's not so bad.._

Felix looked up to Calhoun apologetically. _Sorry Tammy.. But I was right, see?_

The Random Roster Race took place. Vannie won, which wasn't a surprise. She was followed by King Candy, Taffyta, Crumbelina, Candlehead, Jet, Rancis, Megumi Berry, and Minty Zaki.

Megumi Berry was one of the new racers to premier in Sugar Rush 2. She had a blue racing cap with ears on it. Her hair went just past her shoulders and was a similar shade of blue. She wore a shiny blue racing jacket and skirt with a darker blue t-shirt and blue leggings with thin white spiraling stripes. Her kart was similar in design to Taffyta's but as one could expect, it was blue.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so I figured writing part of one race [first chapter] was enough, haha. This one went a bit long already besides.

Markowski refers to Candlehead by her first name, Minty. In this story Candlehead is just her nickname, as it **should** be. If you look up Candlehead/Minty, it's suggested by some that Minty was originally going to be Candlehead's name before it went to Minty Zaki, so I'm going with that. There's a good amount of evidence to support it.

In case you're wondering why I decided to switch Markowski and Spears' names this late into the story.. I just figured, you know.. They're soldiers, so they would originally be calling each other by last name. But now that they're going to be using each others' first names, I'll refer to them as such in dialogue from now on except in Calhoun's case. Besides, it'd be weird for the girls to date them and **not** call them by their first names, right? Thus why Leon calls Candlehead 'Minty'.


	13. Leading the Conversation

**Author's Note:** Just a heads up in case you missed the previous chapter. Markowski and Spears will now be referred to by the first names I've given them, Leon and Garret respectively. Candlehead will also be referred to as Minty now except in some dialogue depending on who is talking about her. When and if Minty **Zaki** talks, I'll write 'Minty Zaki' to keep them differentiated.

* * *

_"Yes!" Ralph said happily, "I knew she'd win.. But back to the issue with Jet.." __There'd better be a good explanation for this._

"Perhaps we should include King Candy in this," Calhoun said pointedly, "He brought it up to begin with." _How did Ralph find out anyway? Does Jet make it a point to tell everyone, 'Oh by the way I used to take over games to pass the time'? Maybe that memory wipe should have been a bit more __extensive._

"Good point," Ralph said, "But I still don't think it's such a good idea." _He couldn't possibly have taken over the game.. He was pretty well and locked up last I seen him. And now he's not grey or anything. Who made him this fancy avatar? _He sighed. _Thinking about it won't get me any answers.._ He jumped down from the stands once enough people were out the way.

"Booyah!" Vannie said happily as she ran over to Ralph and gave him a hug. _Come on, smile more, smi__le. _"You're still thinking about a while ago, aren't you?" She sighed. _Dad needs to come talk to him about it or something. He can explain it better._

"Well that was exhilarating!" Mary said as she slowly hopped down through the exit of the stands, followed by Lucy and Nel. _So that's what a race is like, oh my. That looked like so much fun._

"Mary, Lucy, Nel! You made it!" Vannie said happily, "So what do you think?" _I honestly didn't expect these three to come when Nel acted interested. Maybe they **are** nice to Ralph now.._

"Oh it was wonderful!" Nel giggled, "Why, I don't think I would be able to do it myself, but I can certainly see the appeal." _It's too bad those karts are made so big.._

"So you have one of these every night when the arcade closes, right?" Lucy asked with a smile, "I'm so happy you won. That King Candy fellow nearly had you for a while there." _That Jet fellow stole the show for me though, mmm._

"Yep, every night. And King Candy is my dad," Vannie said with a grin, "He's the one who taught me how to drive, but I give him a hard time like nobody's business." _Well adoptive dad anyways._

* * *

_"Well that was embarrassing.." Jet said despondently, "I can hardly feel happy about making the cut now." He sighed as he got into Crumbelina's kart.__ No offense Ralph, but I'm getting out of here._

"I'm sure it'll get cleared up," Crumbelina said reassuringly, "You should really stop mentioning to every person you meet that you used to hijack games though." _Should I really have to tell you that? You're a little too honest for your own good, sweetie._

"I know.." Jet sighed, "It just slipped out.. And there was no point in trying to cover it up after that." _Besides, Vannie would have likely told him anyway. They were there when I was put into the Fungeon to begin with._

"You sure you don't want to be included in that talk he's going to have?" Crumbelina asked, "It might help if you were the one to explain it."_ You should know this. Please stay.._

"..I'm sure.." Jet said, "If anything, I feel as though it would end up worse if I were there." _Please let's just go. The four of them together should be fine.. _Jet sighed and shook his head subtly. _No.. I can't run away from this can I?.. _"Wait.. Would you be there with me if I go?" _I need her there with me.._

"Of course," Crumbelina said softly, "I'm with you all the way." _I hope everything goes okay.._

Jet swallowed hard and said, "Alright. I guess we should go wait by King Candy.."

* * *

"I'll be right back," Ralph said with a forced smile, "The three of us need speak with King Candy about something for a while." He made it clear that he was referring to Felix and Calhoun. _I expected Jet to have sped off somewhere already. _He was slowly walking in the direction King Candy, Jet, and Crumbelina were in. King Candy was leaning against his kart in a thoughtful pose while Jet and Crumbelina were standing around nearby. _Looks like __they've__ already got something to say._

"Hey there Ralph," King Candy said with a nervous laugh, "Now I'm sure you must have some questions, judging by your.. Well the way you and Jet were talking a while ago." _Here it comes. How should I put this? _He swallowed hard._  
_

"It seems like we have the same topic in mind, yeah," Ralph said as he crossed his arms. _Well Jet certainly has guts to stick around for this, I'll give him that. Is Crumbelina his girlfriend or something? That couldn't be right.._

"Well, ask away. I'll answer them as they come," King Candy said as he gestured with his hands. _Maybe direct questions will help me think about this more easily._

"Okay.." Ralph said, "Well, I think the most pressing question, is 'Why isn't Jet locked up?'" He motioned at Jet. _Now in your own words, please explain __it so that I don't have to get __**too**__ mad at the guy. _He crossed his arms again.

"Right, well.." King Candy said, "Jet you can explain it better, can't you? I know you've told the story probably at least twice by now." _I honestly don't think I could do a better job at it. Thank Konami Jet stayed._

"Okay.." Ralph said, "So.. go ahead, tell your story." _This had better be good._

* * *

"Cheer up, Jujube," Minty said with a frown, "You'll get in next time for sure." _This is where Garret should come in._ She looked at him.

"I'm sorry you didn't make it.." Garret said, "But Candlehead's right, I'm sure you'll get in tomorrow. We all have rotten luck sometimes." _That sounded kind of generic. So disappointing._

Minty quietly sighed. _Forever Candlehead. Well at least Leon uses my name._

"Don't worry about it," Jubileena said, "There's supposed to be different racers each day anyways." _It's not like I really play to win anyways. Not that I don't enjoy winning._ "So I was wondering.. before this game came along, what did you guys do in your spare time?" _I seriously hope you didn't stay cooped up in your game the whole time._

"Oh, Um.." Garret looked over to Leon then back to Jubileena, "Well usually we would just go to Tapper's." _Well it's not really the best date spot though is it?_

"It's a bar that serves root beer, basically," Leon said with a shrug.

"Well I'd like to go into every game at least once," Minty said with a smile. _What's root beer? Well if it's a bar it must be some kind of drink, I guess._

"That's not a problem," Leon said, "It's a nice place to just relax and take your mind off of things. Tapper is a pretty cool guy too."

So they went to Tapper's.

* * *

"Well you got third today, that's pretty good," Rancis said with a smirk, "You'll get first tomorrow for sure though."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Taffyta scoffed playfully as she ran her fingers through Rancis' hair, "Let's go get something to eat, I know you're starving." _He'd better not forget to get food after. Come to think of it, I wonder if I should just move in with him already.. I'd rather not be the one to ask though. __Even though I know there's no way__ he'd say no.. __I wonder if I can trick him into asking me._

"Oh thank Konami!" Rancis laughed, "Who thought it was a good idea to make empty refrigerators anyway?"

"Be glad we have them at all, silly," Taffyta said with a smirk as she rolled her eyes, "It's not like refrigerators have any importance to players racing." _No idea how that works. Best not to think about it, I guess.._

"Or restaurants for that matter," Rancis smirked, "I wonder how that works.." _I wonder if I can get her to offer to stay over again. Or better yet move in! Knowing her if I asked her straight out she'd say no just to tease me though..  
_

They went to their usual after-race eating spot, Cafe DiCaramello.

"You sure you're going to eat all that?" Taffyta asked as she eyed Rancis' plates of food on the table, "I know you're hungry, but still." _Are you trying to pack it away in case you don't get to eat later?_

"Of course I'll eat it all," Rancis said proudly, "Don't look down on this stomach of mine." _Not exactly the conversation I want to be having right now.. Should I just ask her and hope for the best?_

"So I was thinking.." Taffyta said hesitantly, "Why don't I go **with** you to get food later? If I left you alone you'd probably just get sweets." _Carefully lead the conversation.. I'll get him to ask me to move in if it's the last thing I do.  
_

"I'd like that," Rancis said with a grin._ I hope I can get her to offer to move in.. I'd really rather not risk her saying no._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Don't worry Minty, the nickname doesn't persist for much longer.


	14. Jet Spills His Guts

Jet sighed. _Where exactly should I start this story? He already knows about Turbo Time.. _"How far back would you like me to go, Ralph?" he asked. _It wasn't this hard to tell before.. Why is it so hard now?_

"Tell me _all_ about it," Ralph said, "Honestly I'd rather be able to go along with this decision without argument, but I know exactly what you were trying to do, and I don't see how I can forgive something like that."

Jet stood there amazed. _See this is exactly the reaction that everyone should be having, isn't it? Why is everyone else being so forgiving?_ "Well, okay.. You know all about RoadBlasters stealing Turbo Time's thunder, no doubt. We were in real danger of being unplugged.. Then Turbo got hold of whatever it is to game jump and gave Set and I each a copy.." he said and then took a breath.

"We did modify his memory some so that he couldn't remember how to hijack games," King Candy interrupted for a moment. _I'm glad he seems to have completely forgotten how. I'd rather not have to do it a second time.._

"Right.." Jet said, "So Turbo went Turbo, leaving Turbo Time without a player avatar. Our game's death was sealed.. Set suggested that we take over other games. Non-racing games, to stay away from Turbo since he would no doubt choose racing games to inhabit. I just went along with whatever Set did because I couldn't have done it myself, and he'd have gotten himself killed anyway."

"Just how many games did you do this to?" Ralph asked. _Is he __just __trying to put __all __the blame on his brother?_

"There was Agent X, Star Wars, Food Fight.. umm.. Battlezone.." Jet said, "Those were all of them that got unplugged when we left them." _Four games.._

"You destroyed four games, and for what?" Ralph asked, "How can you guys have let this guy off? Unbelievable!" _Why?! Why is this guy not locked up?!_

"I never said it wasn't selfish! And it's not like I **wanted** them to get unplugged," Jet said angrily, "Do you think that I enjoy the fact that I did it? I would have been perfectly satisfied just _living_ in one of those games.. It would have been infinitely better than sitting around like Q-bert's gang until you guys took him in. Do you have any idea how degrading that is? It was Set who wanted to keep going to other games. He said it would increase our odds of not living in a game that would break down suddenly without warning." _But I am pretty sure he just wanted to keep going.._

Felix was just watching the conversation nervously, holding his hat by its brim. _He's sorry about it, Ralph.. Please just see that already.. I know it's not exactly fair, but it just wouldn't feel right keeping him locked up._

Calhoun was just watching as well. _Do we even need to be here? Ralph seems to have the same opinion I do on this._ She looked down at Felix. _He's a bit soft when it comes to things like this, but I can understand him not wanting someone locked up when they seem unwilling to cause further problems anyway._

"So now we're getting at the heart of the issue now, aren't we?" Ralph asked with his eyes narrowed, "Do you honestly think that would make it okay? And I'm guessing there were more games? Which ones _didn't_ get unplugged, if I might ask?" _Do they honestly find this okay?! __So what if he can't do it anymore. He could find a way if he wanted to._

"Of course not!" Jet said, "But you have no idea how it was. I was dragged around for _years _so that my brother wouldn't get himself killed jumping games. Set was the only one I had, and you couldn't change his mind once he's got it set on something. Yeah, there were other games. Hero's Duty was the most recent. There was also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Joust.." he took a moment to breathe. _Finally someone who at least validates the way I feel about this whole thing. I just__-_

"So you're going to just blame your brother?" Ralph asked calmly, "Oh I remember well how Set was. I may have been avoided by everyone but Tapper for _30 years_, but I could tell what he was like. You could have tried harder to stop him. But you didn't." _I see now. It doesn't excuse what he's done at all __though._

"I'm weak, that's why," Jet said sincerely as he was tearing up, "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret what I did.. Oh sure, I would put on a happy face. And I did have fun, I won't lie about it. That's what games are for.. But it's the truth.. Set **is** the reason I did it.." _He __was__ the reason_.. "I was so relieved when I heard from Sergeant Calhoun that he died. I hated myself for it, but it was such a relief.. If only I'd known.." _If only I'd known.. I'd have killed him myself.._ _Why didn't I realize this before?_

Crumbelina hugged his back hesitantly, half expecting him to react harshly. _I knew it.._

"Do you see now, Ralph?" Felix asked hesitantly. _Do you not see how much he's suffered already?_

"It doesn't mean I have to forget what he did," Ralph said, "Fine, have your life. But don't you for one minute think that I'm going to trust you inside _my_ game. Even if you don't remember how to hijack games." _What am I even doing? Now it just seems like I'm picking on him..  
_

"I shouldn't expect anything more from anyone," Jet said, "I already know that I don't deserve this new life." _But please nobody take this away from me.._

"As long as you feel that way.." Ralph said, "Just.." _What am I trying to say?_ "Just.. keep out of trouble.." _Is __it really okay like this?_

* * *

"So this is Tapper's," Jubileena said. _It's a little small. What makes this place so fun, I wonder?_

"Sorry if it's a bit of a letdown," Garret said, "The drink's great though."

"Is it now?" Jubileena asked, "What is root beer anyway? We don't have anything by that name in our game."

"Well, there's one way to find out," Minty said happily. _This place is interesting._

They sat on stools across from each other.

"Hey there, if it isn't Markowski and Spears," Tapper said as he walked up to them, "I haven't seen you two in a few days now." _And they brought girlfriends by the looks of it._ Tapper nodded knowingly as he wiped a mug with a rag.

"Hey Tapper," Garret said, "I'd like to introduce you to our girlfriends. Jubileena here is with me, and Candlehead is with Markowski."

"I had a feeling that was the case," Tapper said with a modest smile, "Shall I get you guys a drink?"

"Yes please!" Minty said with a smile. _Candlehead again.. Why is it only now that it's getting me so annoyed?_

"Coming right up," Tapper said as he quickly slid four mugs of root beer their way, stopping perfectly in front of each of them without spilling a single drop. _I am good._

Minty laughed as she took a sip. "What is this? There's little bubbles in it and everything." _We should have something like this in our game.._

"So it's good?" Jubileena asked before taking a sip as well, "This has bite.." _Really burns the throat, but in a good way._ She took another sip.

"It really brightens the mood," Leon said, "I used to come here all the time.." _It's the only thing that kept me going for a while.._

"Why'd you stop?" Minty asked as she took a gulp. _Mmm.._

"Well, I met you, I guess.." Leon said, "Sounds a little sappy to say it like that though.." _Well, and then there's the fact that I'm back to how I should be in my game.._

"Aww, that's sweet," Minty said, "But it's still interesting here."

"And what about you Garret?" Jubileena asked. _There, I said his first name.._

"Well it's the same thing, really," Garret said, "That and before I was being controlled by that **Set** guy so it's not like I had a choice where to go." _I still can't believe sarge let the other guy go.. But she must have a good reason, tough as she is about everything.._

"So what do you think about _Jet_?" Jubileena asked. _This subject would have come up eventually.._

"I don't even know what to think," Garret said, "I'm not about to forget what he did, but sarge chose to let him free. I can't help but trust in her decision on the matter.." _At least we don't have to worry about the guy that took control of __**me**__. What a nut job that guy was.._

"I'm of the same mind," Leon said, "Sarge is the smartest person we know. If she made that call, then I won't go against it. Even if I can't understand it."

"I see," Jubileena said, "Well all the same, if you happen to run into him, we would appreciate it if you don't exacerbate the situation. Not that I'm saying you would.." _Probably not the best thing to say.._

"Don't worry about it," Garret said. _Are they friends with him now, I wonder?_

"Refills?" Tapper asked as he wandered over with a smile.

"Sure, thanks!" Minty said. _I wonder what's in this stuff to make it so tingly._ More root beers slid their way.

* * *

Taffyta and Rancis finished eating. Rancis actually did finish eating everything he had ordered, which was a lot.

"So did you enjoy staying at my place?" Rancis asked with a nervous smile. _I might as well get straight to this conversation. I might end up being the one to ask her after all.._

"Hmm.. I wonder," Taffyta said mischievously. _Well it seems like we might have the same thing on our minds.. Are you going to ask me to move in, sweetie? Or maybe just stay over again.._

"Aww, come on. I'm serious," Rancis asked with a smile. _I'll take that as a yes to my question unless proven otherwise._

"Well it was fun, I suppose," Taffyta said with a smile, "Except for the lack of food of course." _I bet you're trying to make me be the one to ask.. __Should I just ask, I wonder?_

"Sorry about the food," Rancis said, "It's just that we've been so busy lately I never got around to it." _Not really liking this sudden turn in topic._ "But you're coming with me to the store later, right?" _Hopefully that puts it back on track.. Why is it so difficult to just ask a simple question?_

"You obviously can't do it yourself," Taffyta teased. _Am I really going to have to end up being the one to ask? Maybe he'll ask when I drop him off home.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Even now I don't know which of the two will end up asking the other. In case you're wondering, in this story root beer does not have the intoxicating effects it has in some fanfics. I apologize if that's a letdown for you. It does elevate your mood, but not at the expense of decision-making.


	15. Invitation to Bad-Anon

King Candy cleared his throat and said, "Well.. Does that placate your concerns, Ralph?" _I hope it does, this conversation is likely to get more heated if it continues.._

"Just about," Ralph said, "I'm not happy about it, but I can live with it. So why is everyone being so nice to him even knowing all this?" _And it looks like Crumbelina is indeed his girlfriend. How did that happen?_

"Where do **you** get off?" Crumbelina asked in an annoyed tone, "Are you such a saint that you can make that judgment that he shouldn't have friends? So what if he's made a lot of mistakes in his life? I can't help but wonder why you've been avoided for 30 years." _Sorry Vannie, but your boyfriend is a bit of a jerk right now.._

"**Excuse** me?" Ralph said, "I think you're a bit mistaken on something here. The reason I was avoided for 30 years was because I'm a Bad Guy in my game. Not for anything I've _done_. And what are you his girlfriend?" _I need to calm down. I need to calm down.. __What if Vannie sees me like this?_

"Sorry Wreck-It. I hate to chime in like this," Calhoun said sternly, "But aren't you forgetting a little something?" _You __'__went Turbo__'__ yourself, you know? I'm not saying I __fully __agree with Jet having the sweet life in all its glory, but you've got it pretty good yourself all things considered._

"T-that's different," Ralph said, "I only popped over for a single medal to prove I could do it." _Who's side are you on anyway?_

"And weren't people awful quick to forgive you for that?" Calhoun asked, "You nearly got two games unplugged yourself due to your own selfishness. Hell, even the entire arcade." _Just ease up on the guy, that's all I'm asking. Vannie would be pretty angry if she saw you like this, you know?_

"I helped make it right before it got to that point. You know that," Ralph said, "And besides, had I not been there, Vanellope would still be considered a glitch in Sugar Rush, with Turbo posing as King Candy." _You may be right a little, but there's a pretty big difference._

"You're more like me than you want to admit," Jet said solemnly, "Don't you think I would jump at the chance to magically fix everything? The difference between us is that you were given that reset button. Just ask Sergeant Calhoun. I fully cooperated once I was caught." _I'm glad you're on my side ma'am.._

"Once you were _caught_, yeah," Calhoun said, "But it **was** somewhat thanks to you that I had a good idea of what to expect when I went into the code room, I suppose. Your brother was a disturbing person to say the least, by the way." _I don't even want to think of what would have happened if we didn't stop that one.._

"I won't deny that," Jet said, "He's all I ever had until now, but you'd be right if you said that we're all better off with him dead." _I wonder what.. _"So what was the 'important thing' he hid in your game, in the end?" _I hope that's not too personal a question.._

"Just a confession," Calhoun said, "He wanted to explain everything in detail since he was sure I would only see it if he died. Well he did also ask me to not be so hard on you, if that makes you feel any better." _As if I'm going to reveal he wanted to become Felix though.._

"It makes sense that he would say that," Jet said, "I was the only one who could tolerate him. At least the real him." _Who knows what he would have done without me around.._

Ralph sighed, with his arms still crossed. _I still don't feel right about this guy. I wonder if I should drag him to a Bad-Anon meeting to get their opinion on this. Calhoun is right that I was forgiven easily enough after what I did after all.._

"Alright, look.." Ralph said, "I'm not saying I'm going to trust you or anything, but I'd like a few people to meet you tomorrow." _I won't be heartbroken if you don't agree to it though._

"Your friends you meet once a week, you mean?" Jet asked knowingly, "Bad-Anon I believe it's called, right?" _Technically I am a bad guy, but why should I go with you? I don't especially like the idea of the entire arcade knowing I'm here.._

"You know an awful lot, don't you?" Ralph asked, "I'll form my opinion of you based on how that goes. If you bother to come, that is." _So what's it going to be?_

Jet looked at him intently. _What are you trying to __prove__ with this?_ "I'll think about it.." he said hesitantly.

"Good," Ralph said and cleared his throat, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." _I wonder what Clyde would say about all this.._

* * *

"This place is kind of cool," Jubileena said, "But is this the only place that you guys went to for fun?" _I do hope there's more to you guys than this.._

"Of course not, this is just the place we go to cool off," Garret said, "Maybe also a quick meal in Burger Time.. There's this dancing game, Dance Dance Revolution, well we're no good at that, but it's got some good music.. There's also a basketball game called Hoop Jamz, that's pretty fun to watch the after work matches. Oh, speaking of matches, there's the fights in Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat.." _What other games? Hmm.._

Jubileena listened intently._ Okay, so they do spend time elsewhere. Not really interested in watching fights though.._

"You're forgetting Silver Strike," Leon said with a smile, "It's a bowling game." _I can see it now. __Well, I've never really taught anyone how to bowl before though.. Hmm.._

"What's bowling?" Minty asked. She had finished her second root beer almost as soon as it had appeared. _If Leon mentioned it I'm sure it must be fun.. I hope Tapper comes by with another root beer._

"Well, it's this game where you roll a bowling ball down a lane and try to knock over 10 pins," Leon said, "The ball has these little finger holes in it, and the game actually takes a lot of skill to master, not that either of us have." _170 is still pretty good though._

"What is basketball?" Jubileena asked. _It was one of the first things mentioned, so it must be higher on the list, right? Not really sure about going to a dancing game.._

"Oh, well basketball is this game where you dri- bounce a ball down a court and try to throw it into an elevated hoop," Garret said, "It's a competitive sport between two teams, each trying to prevent the other from scoring." _Come to think of it bowling is probably a better choice. I wish I had thought of that.. Markowski you sly dog you.._

* * *

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Crumbelina and Jet since the race," Rancis said, "I wonder what they're up to." _Didn't they stay behind once the race was over?_

"I don't know," Taffyta said, "It might have something to do with whatever Ralph and Vannie were talking to them about." _I wonder if it was about Jet.._

"You don't think it might have something to do with Jet, do you?" Rancis asked, "Whatever it was they were talking about seemed serious, I can't really think of what else it could be.." _Jet did get games unplugged after all. Even if he does feel bad about it.._

"Yeah, I was just thinking that," Taffyta said, "If it's that I hope it gets settled.. Ralph looks like he could put a hurting on just about anyone if he tried." _We haven't even met Ralph yet. Or talked to Vannie since we got plugged in, come to think of it. Maybe tomorrow.._

"You don't think he'd try that here, do you?" Rancis asked, "I mean, he has to be more mellow than that if he's dating Vannie, right? And little Vanellope also really wanted to find him before that, like he was the only thing that mattered." _I wonder just what kind of person he is.._

"Well, no.. Not really," Taffyta said, "It should be fine.. I just can't help but worry about Jet for some reason. He seems a little fragile right now, like he could fall to pieces if he's handled too roughly." _I wonder if that might be one of the reasons Crumbelina was hanging out with him at first.. __Well, __I don't think she would date someone based on that.._

"Yeah, I can see what you mean," Rancis said, "I hope he'll be okay.." _He must have been through a lot to get like that.._

* * *

"Woohooo_!" _Vannie screamed as she did donuts in her karts with the three lady Nicelanders in her kart a good distance away from Ralph and the others. The four of them were having a grand time. _Well Ralph, I hope your conversation with dad is going okay.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, now some of you will remember that Gloyd and Swizzle were playing basketball in Sugar Rush (the original one) in a previous chapter. Let's just say that they've been to Hoop Jamz before and rigged up their own version. I just thought it would be cute if Leon and Garret explained the games to Minty and Jubileena :p.


	16. Chapter 16

Vannie stopped her kart as Ralph slowly approached. _I'm not so sure I like that look._

"Sorry about the wait," Ralph said putting a smile back on his face, "It's fine." _Well, that somewhat depends on how tomorrow goes.._

"Is everything okay?" Mary asked, "Why, you know you can talk to us any time." _Dear, we know when you're hiding something from us. I'm sure you must have your reasons.._

"It's nothing to worry about," Ralph said, "Just a little disagreement." _I'd like to forget about it for the rest of the day, if that's possible.._

"I see," Vannie said, "So what did you want to do today?" _Come to think of it I haven't even eaten yet since earlier._

"Well, I figured that we should go see Vanellope," Ralph said, "We didn't get to see her at all yesterday." _Hopefully she's not too mad about that._

"There's something I'd like to pick up at the castle first," Vannie said. _Actually you need to get cleaned up. I didn't forget what you said earlier. I've been looking forward to it all day..  
_

"Well, I suppose we should head back to Fix-It Felix Jr." Lucy said, "We'll be sure to come again, dear." _We need to tell everyone about the race. I wonder if we can get Gene to come next time.._

The three Nicelanders went home and told the tale of what they saw. Ralph and Vannie went back to the castle.

"So what is it exactly that you needed to pick up?" Ralph asked. _That had to be just an excuse to come back here, right? What would you come pick up?_

"I want you to get cleaned up, silly," Vannie said, "I hope you didn't forget what you told me earlier." _Wow, that was more embarrassing to say than I thought it would be._

"Oh, right.." Ralph said, "I may have forgotten part of that." _That little talk made it slip my mind. I've never even kissed anyone before that peck today. You're in for some disappointment..  
_

Ralph quickly took a shower, it was the least he could do. He'd been thrown in the mud all day. And besides, when he would regenerate it would be as though he hadn't bathed in his life, of course the mud masked it well enough. _It never bothered me before, but man it feels good to be clean._ King Candy had provided him with a toothbrush and pointed out the towels earlier. He ended up breaking the handle of the toothbrush after about a minute. _Well that's not good.. _He spat and rinsed his mouth, then looked into the mirror._ Should I comb my hair? I'd probably end up breaking that too. Nah, it's fine. Why can't I just regenerate clean like everyone else? __That'd be fantastic._

He left the bathroom refreshed. And he did finally have spare work clothes, thankfully. He wasn't about to go through what he did the first time he went to the castle again.

"Feel better?" Vannie asked mischievously. _Now c__ome a little closer. Just be cool.. It's not like he doesn't want me to kiss him..  
_

"Eh, a little," Ralph said with a smirk. _I wonder if she wants that kiss now, or later.. Now right? Should I just do it now? Well I'd rather she be the one to kiss me again, I don't want to risk handling her too roughly.._ He walked a little closer to her.

"Well bend down, I don't want to go find a box to stand on," Vannie teased. _Shame on you Ralph, making me be the one to do everything._

Ralph did as he was told. _Where did all that shyness from earlier go? Not that I mind._

Vannie wrapped her hands around the back of Ralph's head and pulled him down further for a deep kiss. _I hope I'm doing this right. So embarrassing. I wonder how long would be appropriate._

Ralph's mind nearly went blank from the shock of being yanked down. He almost lost his balance but caught himself by placing one hand on the wall and then carefully placed the other around her back. _I hope I don't squeeze too hard. I can never control myself when I'm excited.._

After a moment, Vannie slowly pulled herself away and breathed. _I hope that was as good for you as it was for me.._ She smiled excitedly and said, "So how'd I do?" _You'd better not leave me hanging._

Ralph cleared his throat and said, "Well, I don't exactly have a frame of reference.. But I'd do it again." He smiled. _I'm good for one more __if you'd like__.. __Guess I didn't have to worry this time __either__.._

* * *

"I wonder what Ralph is planning.." Felix said, "Bringing Jet to a Bad-Anon meeting?" _I guess that's one interpretation of the term Bad Guy.. But what if word spreads throughout the arcade?_

"Honestly I have no idea," Calhoun said, "He'd better take responsibility if the arcade goes after him. You can't expect everyone in the arcade to be as lenient. Jet has made a lot of people homeless." _Honestly, I doubt Ralph even thought it through that far.. __Maybe I should talk him out of it.._

"Y-you don't think they would try to kill him, do you?" Felix asked worriedly. _What is Ralph __thinking? He wouldn't try to get him killed, that much is certain.._

"We should give the surge protectors a heads up," Calhoun said, "They would be able to keep an eye on him to make sure nothing happens." _I'm sure they would take my side on this.._

"Good idea," Felix said, "I just wonder what he expects to happen, bringing him to Bad-Anon.." _I don't even know what goes on in those meetings.._

They left Sugar Rush 2 to notify the surge protectors. It took longer than they would have liked, since they had to explain the whole situation two and a half times. William, the original surge protector, was already privy to some of the details so he didn't need much extra explanation. He had taken to patrolling both stations since he was technically still stationed at Litwak's Arcade.

"And you're certain about this guy?" William asked. They were standing in Game Station East by then talking to him and Ashley, GSE's surge protector, about the issue. _His brother was nuts, you know? Might be genetic.. Well, coded.. __I'll make it a point to stop him every time he passes through a gate.._

"It's a safe bet," Felix said, "We just want to make sure that nobody comes after him."_ I wonder if we should also give Clyde a heads up.._

"Well if it's about public safety, you can count on us," Ashley said. _I hope this doesn't cause any trouble. It's bad enough the folks over at E-Z Livin' keep getting into fights._

* * *

Jet wiped his eyes. _I'm glad I'm alone with Crumbelina again. At least I know she's looking out for me.. No idea where King Candy went off to. But w__hy should I go to Bad-Anon? It's bad enough the number of people who know about this is gradually increasing.. At this rate everyone will know._

"It went better than it could have," Crumbelina said as she rubbed his back to comfort him. _So Ralph stopped Turbo.. I was wondering if anything became of that guy.. And Ralph almost got games unplugged too.. __I'll have to remember that for the next time he tries to pick on Jet..  
_

"Only because you were here," Jet said, "Well, you may not think so.. But it's only because you were here that I was able to say all that.." _Why am I so weak? I still have no idea how or why she puts up with me._

"It's okay, we all have our problems," Crumbelina said. _I probably shouldn't bring anything up right now.._

"I guess," Jet said with a sigh, "I just have more than everyone else." _At least you're not one of them._

"So it sounds like you've made up your mind on the role you played back then," Crumbelina said. _I had a pretty good feeling you were that kind of person __after a while__.._

"We both know how I feel about that though," Jet said, "I tried to put it out of my mind, but in the end I can't forgive myself for it, even if some people do.." He sighed. "And now Ralph has me worried. Why is he trying to get me to go to Bad-Anon." _Is he trying to make it known to everyone? It can't be that, right? But all the same that's what would end up happening.._

"Will you go with him?" Crumbelina asked, "He may not be the nicest guy, but if he's there with you I don't think you'll have to worry about anything happening to you." _What is.. _"What's Bad-Anon anyways?"

"Well, I told you a little about my time in _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ and how I was a Bad Guy in that game," Jet said, "My brother said that we should go to Bad-Anon once as a joke. It's kind of like a support group for people who play the role of villains in their games. Ralph said so himself, he was avoided by everyone for 30 years because he was a Bad Guy. This arcade has a bit of a problem when it comes to how most villains are treated. Though it's better now than it used to be." _We received quite a few dirty looks ourselves back then..  
_

"But that doesn't make any sense," Crumbelina said, "So what if they play as a villain in a game? It's not like they can choose the role they were given."

"You're right, of course," Jet said, "But just like my brother, some people just have thick heads and are stuck in their ways.." _I wonder if there's anything I can do about that.. Is that what Ralph is thinking? No.. He'd have done something himself if he was so worried about it._ "Want to grab a bite to eat? I'm a little starved right now." _I'll think about it later._

"Sure," Crumbelina said. _I am a little hungry.. _"You never answered if you'll go with him or not." _I don't know if I want you to or not to be honest.._

"I haven't decided," Jet said as they got into her kart and went to the same usual place. _Maybe I should.. Things will only get worse if I don't do anything.._

* * *

"So what shall we do now?" Jubileena asked. _I guess it's between watching basketball or this bowling game._

"I hate to admit it, but bowling is probably the better option here," Garret said.

"Well if it comes down to watching something, or doing something," Minty said, "I think I rather actually play a game." _You win, Leon. Still wish I could have had one more root beer..  
_

They made their way to Silver Strike 2007, which was also located in Game Station East.

"Hey!" Minty shouted happily, waving halfway across the power strip, "That's your sergeant over there." _I wonder if she'd like to come along._

Felix and Calhoun walked over to them, having finished talking to the two surge protectors.

"Markowski. Spears. Aren't you going to going to introduce us?" Calhoun asked with a sly grin. _Come to think of it I don't know these girls' names yet.. I think King Candy may have mentioned them but what were they again? Candle something? Maybe if I don't say anything I can play it off.._

"Come to think of it we never told you our names, sorry about that," Jubileena said. _This woman is intense. _She glanced down at Felix. _How does this little guy keep up with her?_

"This fireball here is Jubileena," Garret said. _Wow, that's a lot more embarrassing to say than I thought it would be. __Hopefully she doesn't mind that I just called her that.._ "And this is-"

"Minty," Leon said quickly, "Her name is Minty." He cleared his throat. _She may not say it, but I don't think she likes being called 'Candlehead'._

Jubileena looked at him with an eyebrow raised. _Is there something I'm missing? I might have to ask her about this.. If it bothers her to be called Candlehead she would have told me, right?_

"Right," Minty said happily, "Most people call me Candlehead since there's another racer named Minty in our game though." _Thank you Leon, I couldn't have done that.. Most people call Minty Zaki by her full name anyway, what's the big deal?_

"I-I see, right. Minty," Garret said. _Is there something I'm missing? Maybe she doesn't like the nickname they gave her? I can't say I'd blame her though.. But even Jubileena calls her Candlehead._

"Alright, well I'm sure they must have told you at least something about me.." Calhoun said, "But I'm Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun. You can just call me Tamora if you'd like. Are they treating you okay?" _I'm sure they must be since the girls seem in high spirits. I've got a pretty good idea who they're with now.._

* * *

"I told you you shouldn't have ordered dessert," Taffyta said, "You'd better finish it." _Are we going to stock your fridge or not?_

"I'll finish it, just give me a minute to let my stomach make room," Rancis said. He was leaning back into his chair patting his stomach. _I overestimated myself this time.._

"Oh hey guys," Crumbelina said as she and Jet got out of her kart, "Didn't expect to see you here." _Just how much did Rancis eat?_ There were four empty plates stacked in the middle of the table, all of them belonging to Rancis.

"Captain Starvation here decided to relinquish his title," Taffyta said to tease him. _Now finish your dessert._

"Speaking of which," Jet said, "Where is the supermarket around here? I'm assuming there is one anyways." _We've got refrigerators, after all..Still not sure how that works.. Do games just fill in the blanks automatically?_

"Actually, we were headed there after he finished eating," Taffyta said, "But you see how that's going." _Great, now you're going to want to come with us, aren't you? Kind of trying to get Rancis to ask me to move in.. It's not like he's going to do that with other people around._

"Mind if we tag along later?" Jet asked, "My refrigerator is kind of empty. Well, I mean literally empty." _I'm sure Crumbelina wouldn't mind coming along. Come to think of it she knows all about me, or close to it, but I don't know much about her.. I wonder if she'd mind me asking.. Probably not, right?  
_

"Sure," Taffyta said, "No problem." _Sure I mind, that is. But it's fine.. I'll just get Rancis to ask later or another day if need be._

"You never said you didn't have anything to eat," Crumbelina said, "You must really be starving."

"Well, I'd rather not accept Rancis' title just yet," Jet said jokingly. _Captain Starvation.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, someone made a review a few days ago stating Jet should go to Bad-Anon. After thinking about it, it's not such a bad idea so I'll be using that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, by the way :p.


	17. Chapter 17

"Well if you want another, you're going to have to come and get it," Vannie said mischievously. _Take a little initiative._

"Promise you won't get mad if I'm a little rough?" Ralph asked, "I'm quite strong you know." _A little too strong usually.._

"I promise," Vannie said with a smile, "Besides, when was the last time you accidentally broke something?" _So that's what he's been so worried about.._ _I guess I can't blame him for that. But we're in my game anyways. Even if something should happen, which it probably **won't**, I'd just regenerate. I suppose it __could__ hurt though.. a lot.. Hmm.. Well I __already made up my mind.__._

"I broke a toothbrush just a few minutes ago," Ralph said hesitantly, "Snapped like a toothpick.." _It's a **very** real concern, you know?_

"I'll be fine," Vannie insisted, "I was fine just now, right?" _We shouldn't have to worry if you're careful.._

Ralph sighed and said, "Well if you're sure.." _Kind of wrecks the mood talking about this.._

"I'm sure," Vannie said earnestly. _Now you do have me a little worried though. _"Just take it slow if you're so worried." _I wonder if I__'m asking for__ a little too much.. Am I being unreasonable? __The last thing I want is for him to feel guilty for hurting me somehow.._

Ralph sighed again and said, "Alright.." _Here goes, sorry in advance.._

Ralph ever so slowly leaned down and wrapped a hand around her back. _So far so good.. _He took his free hand and gently placed it around the back of her head and pulled her in for another deep kiss. It lasted only a matter of seconds, but it was all good. Nothing happened. Though it was a bit difficult and awkward for him to say the least, since his hands were several times larger than the average persons'. _Thank you coding __g__ods._

"See? Nothing to worry about," Vannie said. _Mine was definitely better though. I somehow doubt I should be proud about that though. __Maybe I should ease up a bit. It's embarrassing enough doing this much as it is.._

"You have no idea how relieved I am about that," Ralph said as he rested against the wall. _It's terrifying just thinking what could have happened. __And I wish my hands were way smaller for things like this. Talk about awkward._

* * *

"Treating us okay?" Jubileena asked before cracking up laughing, "Yeah, everything's going fine." _Maybe she knows how to have fun after all. And apparently I'm a fireball, I almost forgot Garret said that. Well that's not necessarily a bad thing, is it? Is that a compliment? Or is it because of my red theme? Or maybe he's saying I'm hot? All of the above? I'm sure he'll probably comment on it at some point.. Or should I?_

"So where are you four headed?" Calhoun asked. _She's an energetic one by the looks of it._

"We were headed to Silver Strike," Leon said, "Would you two care to join us?" _Minty did call them __over, after all._

"That sounds like a swell idea!" Felix said, "I've not bowled since.. well, in a few years now actually." _Come to think of it, I wonder if Tammy has ever been bowling.._

"Well, you've got his approval," Calhoun said with a smile, "You gonna teach me how to play, Felix? I've never been there myself, though I know the boys go sometimes." _It's a good excuse to keep watch. This'll be fun._

"I could give a few pointers, I suppose," Felix said. _Jiminy jaminy, if only I were a little bit taller__ it would be easier__._

"Then it's settled!" Minty said excitedly. _I wonder what I should expect. Rolling a ball down a lane to knock down pins.. _She giggled at a pretty far off mental image of what that would be like. _Couldn't be like that.._

Garret was standing there just thinking to himself. _I knew I should have left Tapper's a little more often.. My lack of skill is certainly going to show. Maybe I can blame it on the armor. No.. Markowski, or maybe I should call him Leon now, he has a 170 average with his armor on so I can't use that excuse.. How he had such a high score when his character was messed up is beyond me._ _Maybe I'll get lucky._

They went to Silver Strike. It was exactly what you would expect from a modern bowling alley. Kohut and Loya happened to be there already, in the middle of a game.

"I was wondering where those two got off to," Calhoun said as she spotted them. She made a point to never forget to do a spot check again.

* * *

"Well, I don't think I could eat this much," Jet said looking at the stack of empty plates, "But yeah, I'm quite hungry.. We're not interrupting a date or anything, are we?" He smiled. _I can just about bet we are. I just wanted to turn that line back on you. __N__o hard feelings, right?_

"Maybe a little bit," Taffyta said with a smile, "But don't worry about it." _So that's the way you want to play it, hmm? Well at least you don't seem to be holding a grudge since you can joke about it. __And you got a girlfriend out of it anyway._

"Have a seat," Rancis said as he finally managed to take another bite of his dessert, "Ugh.." _Taffyta.. finish it for me.._ He scooted the plate ever so slightly away from himself to indicate he was 'done'.

"Sorry to intrude," Jet said with a smile as he and Crumbelina pulled chairs over and sat down.

"That's your limit, hmm?" Taffyta said jokingly, "Want me to finish it for you?" _Wait.. Was that __your__ plan all along? Did I fall for a trap?_

"You can have it," Rancis said with a smile. _Perhaps I can get her to ask me after all.. __Though I did plan on finishing it at first._

Taffyta subtly narrowed her eyes. _You win this round. _She grabbed the plate and finished it like it was nothing.

"So you've been living on an empty fridge too, Rancis?" Crumbelina asked. _Well at least the food wasn't wasted like ours was yesterday.._

"Yeah," Rancis said, "Why do they have to spawn empty?" _Do they __want__ us to starve?_

"I swear I thought the same exact thing earlier today," Jet said with a smile. _Well __I thought it worded differently__, not that it matters any._

"That's why you go out and get food," Taffyta said as she placed her palm directly onto her face. _Do you expect the karts to drive themselves next?_

"They'll get it eventually," Crumbelina said, giggling slightly. _I'm glad Jet cools down easily enough. I'd better be careful not to bring up Ralph or Bad-Anon.._

* * *

"I think that's enough for now," Vannie said happily, "You wanted us to go see Vanellope, right?" _Still feels a little weird calling her by my name. Well it's her name too.._

"Oh, right!" Ralph said as he quickly got away from the wall, making the wall crack a little, "..Don't mind that." _Well at least it seems like I can touch people without having to worry too much __for the time being__.. __I've taken a lot of risks in the past.. Well I'm still taking risks, obviously. I need to find a way to fix that._

"Well we'd better go then," Vannie said, "You think she'd still be in her game? If I were her, well I guess I was in a way, I'd have come here looking for you already." _Well I got what I wanted, I may as well share. It's a good thing she's just a kid __though__._

"True," Ralph said, "King Candy did say she was playing with some new friends yesterday. That has to be why she never showed up. I'd like to talk to the King Candy from the first Sugar Rush as well." _I keep forgetting to ask one of them about changing the Random Roster Race times._

"About Jet?" Vannie asked. _Not sure what he would have to do with him though.._

"Oh. No. I just feel bad about missing Vanellope's races," Ralph said, "Two days in a row I've missed it now." _I'm sure she's at least a little mad about that.._

"Yeah, I'd be a little mad if you missed my races," Vannie said.

"I had a feeling you would be," Ralph said, "She's like that about her races too." _You're not reading my mind, are you? If you are, scratch the back of your neck._

Vannie suddenly scratched the back of her neck by coincidence which freaked Ralph out a little.

"What?" Vannie asked seriously. _Did he suddenly realize something?_

"No, it's nothing.." Ralph said. _Don't scare me like that._

They left for Sugar Rush and met Vanellope on the way in Game Station West.

"There you are, Stinkbrain!" Vanellope said excitedly as she glitched onto his shoulder and hugged his head, "Where've you been?" _I tell ya, it's been rough avoiding people on the way here.. He__ smells nice.. hair still damp.. Champ here must have taken a shower not long ago.  
_

"Oh, just hangin' around," Ralph said nervously. _I can't really just come out and say what I've been doing.._

Vanellope narrowed her eyes in suspicion and said, "Hmm.. I see." _Well it's none of my business what they do when they're alone. I don't need that mental image, thank you._ "So what do you guys wanna do?"

"Before I forget," Ralph said, "Think you can get the Random Roster Race bumped back a little in the day? Kind of hard to watch both if they start so soon after the arcade closes." _Come to think of it Vanellope would have greater authority over Sugar Rush still, going by King Candy's attitude. That's probably for the best._

"Come to think of it you have to take an extra train right just to get there," Vanellope said, "Sure, I'll move it back, but you'd still better be quick.. So Stinkbrain, what's it like living in a castle?" _Oh sure, when I offer 'oh no, I'm fine, I'll live in a brick shack thanks'._

"Y-you heard about that, did you?" Ralph asked, "It couldn't be avoided. Really. They were very insistent." _Maybe I should have moved in with Vanellope when she offered.. She's still a kid after all._ _Shouldn't have expected her to live alone except for servants.. _"So how's your dad? Oh, I mean King Candy.." _Would she even call him dad?_

"I just can't see him like that," Vanellope said dismissively, "He's fine. He's a nice guy and all, but it just wouldn't feel right calling him dad. He sure does like hanging around with your zombie friend though. They seem to have a lot in common believe it or not." _I tell ya that Zombie.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just so you know, I never was planning on having Ralph actually hurt Vannie or anything like that. I don't think I could do that to them. But it **is** something that he should be worried about, so I made him worried about it. And if you think about it, how's he supposed to be the one to 'take initiative' with those ham-hands? Just two fingers are about the size of a head, which makes writing scenes like this difficult for me, especially since I've never written anything like this before.


	18. Chapter 18

"Well what would you prefer?" Ralph asked, "I'm the one who missed your races two days in a row, and I didn't see you at all yesterday." _Truth be told I haven't seen Tapper since the other day either. I hope __**he's**__ not too shaken up about it, haha._

"A peace offering, hmm?" Vanellope asked, "Wise choice.. I haven't eaten yet, so escort me to Burger Time, would you?" _Well it's not the best food in the world, but it'll do._

Behind the screen in Burger Time is exactly what you would expect from a 1980's fast food restaurant that specialized in burgers. Ralph, Vannie, and Vanellope took a seat in an empty booth to wait for their orders.

"This is my first time coming here," Vannie said, "Is the food good?" _It looks clean enough, but surely it can't be better than Spicy Jill's cooking.. Or even the food over at Cafe DiCaramello.._ _I need to go there someday._

"It's not bad," Vanellope said, "I'm not really in the mood for anything elaborate." _Besides it's called fast food for a reason, I want it now._ "Ralph takes me here every now and then. Root beer at Tapper's really washes it down though. No idea why Litwak decided it was a good idea to put the two on opposite sides of the arcade." _That sensation of chasing a fresh burger down with root beer is a thing of the past.._

Their food arrived and they talked while eating.

"I wonder what Felix and Calhoun are up to," Ralph said, "I haven't seen them since earlier." _Thought we would have happened across them by now._

"I snuck past them in Game Station East," Vanellope said, "They were with big Jubileena and Candlehead. Oh, and those two soldiers. They seemed to be having a good time."

"Oh yeah, they've been hanging around with Jubileena and Candlehead for a few days now," Vannie said, "I think they're going out, not sure what else it could be." _Maybe I should__n't be spreading it around if I'm not certain about it.._

"Yeah, that's Markowski and Spears," Ralph said, "We rode the train to Sugar Rush 2 at the same time earlier. I'd say it's certain that they're going out. They said as much, anyways." _They have nothing to gain from lying, so it has to be true._

"Why do they feel like they need to wear armor all the time though?" Vannie asked, "I mean, do they expect to get attacked when they're goofing off or something?" _Do they just like to look intimidating? __I don't see how they expect to get closer to the girls if they don't dress down. Or would it be dressing up __in their case__?_

"Dunno," Vanellope said. _Never really thought about it._

* * *

Jet sighed as he ate. He was hungry, but he wasn't really in any mood to eat. _Great, now I'm thinking about it again. Come on brain, I said I'd think about it later._

"What's wrong, Jet?" Taffyta asked, "You seem a little down." _I hope it's not too personal. Maybe it __has something to do with earlier.._

"It's nothing," Jet said, "Just thinking about a conversation I had earlier. It's complicated." _She **really** wants to know, doesn't she?_

"I don't want to seem nosy," Taffyta said. _Well I kind of am, unfortunately. _"But you can tell us about it if it'll make you feel better."

"Well, it's not like it's a secret or anything," Jet said with a sigh, "I was just invited to go somewhere tomorrow, but I think it's probably a bad idea, but then it's also not a bad idea." _I'd really like to just hide away here the rest of my life, but that's just no good, is it?_

"Were you invited to a party?" Taffyta asked. _That's the only invitations I ever get.. I'd like a different kind from Rancis though._

"I wouldn't really call it a party," Jet said, "It's more like a meeting. Not an intervention or anything like that though." _Well it's closer to an intervention than a party, I guess._

"What kind of meeting?" Rancis asked. _I don't want her to feel like she's the only one curious about it._

"That's the part where it's a bad idea," Jet said, "It's a support group for Bad Guys. As in video game villains. Ralph is using a different interpretation of the label Bad Guy and wants me to go with him. He didn't really say why." _I was dead set on not thinking about this until later.._

"But you're not a bad guy anymore, are you?" Taffyta asked, "I mean, you seem really nice and everything. And you're certainly not a villain. Sugar Rush 2 doesn't have villains." _You don't seem like someone who used to hijack games in the past at all.. It's hard to believe __it's true__.._

"Well, I'm trying not to be a bad guy," Jet said, "I mean, I really like not being a bad guy. It's just that I've done terrible things in the past and there's no amount of making up for it that I can do." _But that doesn't mean I __shouldn__'t try.._

"If you go to that meeting, what's going to end up happening?" Taffyta asked. _You're coming right back, right?_

"At worst? The whole arcade will know who I am and what I did," Jet said, "And some of them might want to get back at me for what I've done.. At best, I don't really know yet.." _It'__d be__ embarrassing __to say__ 'oh maybe if I go I can __figure out how to set things right for some people__'. Besides, it might sound like I'm __only __trying to buy for__giveness. __In a way, maybe I am.. I'm not sure what to make of myself anymore. Why did I have to follow Set? If only I had stopped him.._

"It sounds like not going would be in your favor if you ask me," Taffyta said, "I mean, why risk people coming after you if the alternative is just not going to some meeting?" _Do Bad Guys spread rumors or something? No, that can't be right.. I guess they're just like everyone else in that regard._

"That's what I'm thinking, but for some reason I kind of want to go," Jet said, "It doesn't make sense to me why." _What am I expecting to happen by going to Bad-Anon?_ "I just don't want to ruin my new life already.. Or at all, really." _I wish I had worded that better. Obviously I don't want to ruin my life at all. Who would want to do that?_

* * *

"Morning, Sarge," Kohut said. _They on a triple date or something?_

"Guess that explains where Markowski and Spears keep running off to," Loya said knowingly. _Maybe I should head over and get a girl as well. Oh, but then I __might __run into that guy.. __Probably a bad idea. Then again, I don't even know how much I hate the guy, really.. Worst thing he did in my body besides occupying it is cry himself to sleep and make fun of Markowski, which I'd have done the latter anyway. It was pretty funny. Guess I'll find out when I see him and have a little chat with him. I'll give him a hard time about it for sure.. [See note.]  
_

"Oh that gives me an idea," Calhoun said with a smirk, "How about we have a little four on four game?" _I may be new at this, but so __are the girls. And this will__ make it more interesting. __So boys, what will you do?_

"That sounds like a challenge," Leon said, "We accept." _Well I don't know about Spears.. Or Garret Whichever he wants to be called, but I'm pretty good at it myself. Not pro level of course, but who among us is? Well, unless Felix is.. _He narrowed his eyes subtly. _He hasn't bowled a game in years he said. The law of inverse bowling skill states that the longer a pro goes without bowling, the better his next game will be. We're screwed._

"We don't even know how to play yet!" Jubileena said insistently, "Why didn't you wait until we talked it over?" _Quit trying to show off._

"Oh! It's a competition!" Minty said excitedly, "Even better." _I wonder which ball looks prettiest. These actually look kind of heavy.. It's nothing like what I thought it would be like here._

"Relax, it's just a friendly match," Garret said. _Should I come out and say that my average is 150? Probably not a good idea. So disappointing. __Well I did bowl a 253 before.. As much as that says about my lower scores.._

"Okay, well I'm going to the washroom first," Jubileena said.

"Oh, me too!" Minty said as she followed Jubileena in the direction of the washroom.

"Well boys, ready to be embarrassed in front of your girlfriends?" Calhoun teased. _I'll be eating those words later if I do badly at this myself. Felix you'd better pick up the slack._

"N-now, there's no need to get too fired up," Felix said with a smile. _She breathes fire, but it's all smoke, haha._

* * *

**Author's Note:** So I've been thinking.. Why should they wear their armor all the time if they're not expecting a fight? Bowling in armor makes equally less sense, haha. On the point of Loya.. Of course he still hates Jet, just not **super** intensely. I plan to elaborate when he eventually meets Jet face to face. Leon is just full of it when he's thinking about 'the law of inverse bowling skill'. He's making a joke to himself.


	19. Chapter 19

"Alright, so we've eaten," Ralph said, "Where to next Baroness Boogerface?"

"It won't be the same," Vanellope said, "But the next stop is Tapper's, definitely. You sure missed out, Vannie. It was the best."

They went to Tapper's.

"Hey squirt," Tapper said happily as he cleaned a mug with a rag, "Always a pleasure." _What other pub can say they have frequent visits from royalty?_ He glanced over to a wall with portraits on it. Vanellope's was featured prominently. "So what can I getcha? 'Course there's only the one thing."

"We'll have some of that then," Vanellope said happily. _Oh, Taps._

They sat down and three root beers slid their way.

"Bromigooo!" Bobby said happily with his arms outstretched, "Glad to see things are going well, man."

"Bobby.." Ralph said with a half smile, "How's things over in E-Z Livin'?" _I'm glad they turned out to be good guys. I still find it hard to believe this guy used to be the ship from Asteroids._

"Going great, man," Bobby said, "A few fights, of course. But that's just them letting off a little steam amongst themselves, you know?"

"Rowdy bunch, aren't they?" Ralph asked. _I think we'd probably be best keeping Jet far away from there. He's likely got a lot of enemies taking up shelter there as well._

"That's just the nature of the game.." Bobby said plainly, "So I heard through the grapevine there's a new racer over in Sugar Rush 2." He took a sip of root beer. _Nothing gets past these ears._

"O-oh, is that so?" Ralph said, "There's nothing to worry about, I hope?" _Maybe I shouldn't bring Jet out after all? And Vanellope is right here.. I'd __**really**__ rather not be talking about this in front of her._

"Well that all depends, man," Bobby said, "If you know what happened then I'm sure you can understand the reaction some people might have."

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Vanellope asked impatiently. _Whatever it is, it's something serious, and Ralph is trying to keep it vague._

"Whoa, maybe I shouldn't have said anything.." Bobby said, "My bad, dude." _He trying to keep it secret or something? Sorry man, it's a little late for that now. _"Wasn't me this time, in case you're wondering." _That'd be too uncool. From what I hear it's the not-crazy twin.  
_

"Ralph, you'd better be square with me," Vanellope said with a dead serious face. _What are you hiding from me?_

"I'll tell you when there's less people," Ralph said, "It's not something that needs to be spread around, although it looks like it's too late for that now." _This is a disaster. Is there any way I can salvage the situation?_

* * *

"I.. I wish I knew what to tell you," Taffyta said, "I mean, I can understand why people would be livid.. But um.." _Some help I am.._

"It's okay," Jet said with a sigh, "I made this bed, I have to sleep in it. It's something I just have to accept." _I just hope nobody comes for blood.._

"I-if someone does come after you.." Crumbelina said, "You won't just let them beat up on you, will you? There's taking responsibility and then there's being a punching bag, you know?" _You'd better not get yourself beat up on purpose to make them 'happy'.._ _There has to be a way to get people to not mess with you.._

"Of course not," Jet said, "I just.. I don't know what I _can_ do to take responsibility. Their homes are long gone, there's nothing I can do to fix that. And the ones who do still have homes.. Well I did still take control of their bodies away from them for extended periods." _I am a horrible person._

"I still don't understand why you had to do it in the first place," Taffyta said, "I feel bad for what you're going through, but it just doesn't make any sense. I'm not trying to be nasty or anything. I like being your friend, but I can't figure you out." _That didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to.._

"I can't figure myself out either," Jet said, "It's frustrating.. I know the reasons why I did it, but looking back on it, they just weren't good enough. I'm glad that you guys even give me the time of day even knowing all this. It means the world to me..." _I'm still baffled about that._

"Okay, well what were your reasons then?" Rancis asked. _I hope they're at least understandable.._

"Crumbelina knows this already. We've talked about it a few times.. But anyway, aside from simply not wanting to be homeless and begging for food?" Jet said as he ran his fingers through his hair. _How many times will I tell this story?_ "My brother was what you would call a psychopath.. Even before our game was about to get unplugged when Turbo left.. He wasn't the type who easily made friends. In fact he hated people. Well, everyone except for me." _And Calhoun, I think.._ "He didn't care what the consequences of his actions were. Rather, he enjoyed causing problems for people." _That's why Turbo didn't want anything to do with us. One too many 'pranks', even if he was a rotten guy himself and usually deserved it. _"So you can about imagine his reaction when Turbo gave us the means to hijack games. This still doesn't excuse what I've done, but I followed and helped him because I knew how risky doing that is and didn't want him to get killed. He was all I had back then.."

"So you _helped_ him knowing the kind of person he was?" Rancis asked, "No offense, but couldn't you have just stopped him by taking it away or something? And couldn't you have made friends on your own like you've done since you came here?" _Sorry Jet, but that **is** pretty weak.._

"You're right," Jet said solemnly, "I would have done it differently a million different ways if I knew then what I know now. I could have done what you just said, or I could have tried harder to change his mind. I could have erased his memories myself.. I could have even killed him outside our game if it came to that. But back then I just couldn't.. I didn't even know how relieved I would feel with him gone until I heard he killed himself. That's why it's so frustrating.. It's just always been like that. Now I would even have preferred being homeless if it meant stopping Set. But it's too late for all that now.." He sat there quietly for a while, the others expected him to keep talking some more since he was going a mile a minute for a while.

"If it's always been like that, couldn't it be that it's in your programming to do anything for him?" Crumbelina asked to break the silence. _I mean, it seems likely, judging from the way you've been talking.. This goes way beyond normal 'brotherly love'._

"..I don't know," Jet said with a sigh, "It would be too convenient an excuse, even if it could be true. Besides, there are several instances of people going against their programming. Usually when given no other choice, but there are other examples, like Turbo. Even Ralph went against his programming for a day, just to get a little recognition from other characters in his game." _I never really thought about that possibility. But that still doesn't help much.._

* * *

"I was hoping you would follow me," Jubileena said as they went inside the washroom. I wanted to make sure.. You.. don't like being called Candlehead, do you?" _Why didn't you tell me?_

Minty fidgeted with her hands and said, "Well I didn't want to make a big deal out of it.. It didn't really even bother me until Leon started calling me by my name." _It's obvious which name I would rather be called, isn't it?_

Jubileena hugged Minty and said, "I'm sorry. I should have known.. You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Of course not!" Minty said, "How could I be mad at you for something like that? You're my best friend, you know?"

"Is there anything else that's been bothering you?" Jubileena asked, "It doesn't matter what it is, just tell me."

"Not really.." Minty said, "Well.. You could maybe be a little nicer to Leon.."

"..I can _try_.. But he's a bit of a goof, you know?" Jubileena said with a smile.

"That's good though," Minty said happily, "I like that he's not the straight laced type."

"I suppose he's just your type, huh," Jubileena said jokingly.

"Yep!" Minty said, "By the way.. I didn't want to say anything out there, but how do they expect to play well if they're wearing armor?" _I was trying to figure out what was wrong with that picture for a while.._

"Yeah, it is a bit weird," Jubileena said with a laugh, "You think maybe we should get them to wear something else from now on? It shouldn't be hard.." _Maybe we could bring them shopping or something._

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to get closer with a few inches of metal in the way," Minty said, "I wonder if they have anything other than military stuff though.." _I would like to at least give him a hug.. He's a little too big to carry._ _That would just make my day though!_ She laughed.

* * *

Kohut and Leon were arm wrestling to pass the time. Leon lost, much to his disappointment.

"Better luck next time," Kohut said in a satisfied tone.

"Well here come the girls," Calhoun said with a grin. _Still can't get over the fact they have girlfriends. I would never believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes._

"Did we miss anything?" Jubileena asked.

"Nothing in particular," Garret said, "So are we ready to start?"

"May as well," Jubileena said, "So what are the rules?" _Can't really play without knowing the rules._

"Okay, well.. You just grab a bowling ball and stick these fingers in the holes," Garret said while wiggling said fingers, "And then you just sort of walk towards the lane you're bowling on, and stop before the line, releasing the ball so that it quickly rolls toward the pins. The goal is to knock as many down as you can." _That's basically it, right? Am I forgetting anything?_

"If you knock all ten down in one roll, that's what's called a strike," Leon added, "If you knock down less than that on your first roll, but knock the remaining ones down in your second roll, that's a spare. If there are still pins standing after the second bowl, that's what is called an 'open frame'." _That's more or less all you need to know, really. Do we need to go into how scoring works?_ "Oh, and if the ball goes off to the sides in those little gutters, that's called a gutter ball and is basically a wasted roll."

"Alright, so let's get the ball rolling," Calhoun said sarcastically. _What? I thought it was funny, got a problem?_

Felix laughed. _I say that same thing sometimes._

They took their gloves/hand armor off in preparation and went to pick out their balls.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Any other occasion Jet's story gets told, I'll just put something like 'Jet told his story'. It gets repetitive.


	20. Chapter 20

Vanellope quickly finished her root beer and said, "Then let's go where there aren't any other people. You know how I feel about keeping secrets." _I'm sure __you have__ a reason to hide it, whatever it is, but I don't like it._

Ralph sighed and said, "Alright, you win.." _I guess it had to happen eventually. It's not like it's a secret to the racers so she was bound to find out sooner or later._

They went into a closet for cleaning supplies to talk. It was a little cramped, but Vanellope didn't want to wait any longer than necessary to hear it.

"So spill it," Vanellope said. _What is it?_

Vannie fidgeted with her hands. _Why is it so hard for me to __find something to say__ when Vanellope is around? __Maybe __it's just rotten luck.._

"Alright, look.." Ralph said seriously, "Promise you won't freak out until after I tell you everything." _It's best to prepare her for it first, I guess.._

Vanellope narrowed her eyes. _This must be something really serious._ "Fine, I promise."

Ralph sighed and said, "Okay.. Well you remember that guy from the Fungeon the other day? Well King Candy made him a new racer in Sugar Rush 2." _Don't look at me like that, kid.._

"He did what?!" Vanellope asked nervously. _Did he take over the game?! That doesn't make sense though!_

"Calm down, kid," Ralph said, "There's more to it." _I knew it.._

Ralph recounted everything he could remember about it.

"So I'm bringing him to a Bad-Anon meeting to have them give their opinion on the matter," Ralph said. _She's taking it a lot better than I expected her to at least._

Vanellope groaned worriedly and asked, "Are you absolutely sure about this?" _If Ralph says it's okay, it must be okay.. He wouldn't be doing this unless he was sure, right? I just can't shake this feeling.. Ralph, please know what you're doing.._

"I'm sure that he poses no threat. At least right now," Ralph said, "But I can't just leave it at that. He does seem at least somewhat genuine, given how emotional he got over it. It was his brother you had to watch out for anyways. And if he does feel so bad about it, then Bad-Anon is the place to bring him." _Oh, come to think of it they could give some advice on what to do about all the people that might come after him.. __Didn't think about that until now, but it's a good plan._

"What is it with characters from Turbo Time?" Vanellope grumbled, "I wish you would have just told me so I didn't have to hear about it second hand. If you can't trust me to trust you, then how do you think that makes me feel?" _Does he get what I'm trying to say?_

"I'm sorry, alright?" Ralph said, "I just didn't want you to worry over it. I'd have told you later if it turns out he's not bad anymore for sure." _I hope __Jet__'s not just playing a__round__. I've never seen someone break __down like that before.. Well, not since I broke Vanellope's kart anyways.. I would like to believe he's telling the truth.._

* * *

"Well I can at least kind of understand where you're coming from now," Taffyta said with a sigh, "But still.. Be more careful about what you do from now on, yeah? It's not like you're alone anymore." _And you'd better not forget that or you'll be sorry._

"You've got my word on that," Jet said.

The conversation trailed off as Jet and Crumbelina ate, and they drove off in Crumbelina and Taffyta's karts to the supermarket for food stuffs. Rancis took a long time down the candy aisle, he never could decide what kind to get right away. They 'paid' for everything with a card, but it was mostly just for show as there was no actual currency in the game other than the giant coins used to enter into races.

"Guess we'll split up here," Crumbelina said with a smile. _Sorry about the intrusion, Taffyta. She certainly seems anxious about something.._

"See ya at the race," Taffyta said happily. _Finally!_

"Later," Rancis said, "And I hope everything goes alright, Jet. You can count on us if things go south." _He's like a completely different person now from what he described.. I wonder if what Crumbelina said earlier is true.._

"Thanks," Jet said. _I'd really rather not get them involved in this.._

* * *

Taffyta drove Rancis home. _Well, this is it.._

"Could you help me carry the bags inside?" Rancis asked. _I've got to get her inside the house first for sure.._

Taffyta sighed. _Any excuse to get me to go inside._ "I suppose I could." _I wanted to go in anyways._

"You sure this is all going to fit?" Rancis asked. _That's what she said. _"I mean.. it's a lot."

"Well it's not like the boxes of cereal or bread will be going in the refrigerator," Taffyta said while rolling her eyes. _Now you're just playing dumb._

"Just a joke," Rancis said with a smile as he placed various goods in the refrigerator. _Didn't go over well.. What to say? The mood is going to get awkward soon. Must avoid that.._

"Uh huh," Taffyta said. _This is just getting painful. Should I just ask and get it over with?_

"Fridge stocking complete!" Rancis said victoriously, "Hmm.. Still something missing.." _Do you know what it is, Taffyta?_

"Oh yeah? And what might that be?" Taffyta asked. _Well don't make __**me**__ say it. Be the man._

"Oh yeah, there's no _tea_," Rancis said. _T as in Taffyta. _"I'd rather have some _tea_ in the house." _Is this really the best I can do?.. __Lame.__Hey, d__o you remember when I gave you that nickname, __Taffyta__? It's been years since then of course. Only used it a couple of times. It was kind of corny._

Taffyta sighed. _I hear you loud and clear, sweetie. But how am I supposed to respond to that subtly? Not that I would call that subtle.. Oh.. _"I.. I suppose I could go get some from my house and bring it over. It's not that far." _Does this exchange even count? Is it a draw? I can't count this as a win, __but I definitely didn't lose.._

After an ever so brief moment of awkward silence, Rancis said, "J-just to be clear, you're not just going get tea, right?" _Alright, I lost.. But I still w__i__n __something__, right?_

Taffyta laughed, "Yeah, I am. What did you think I meant?" _Make him squirm a little._

"O-oh, nothing," Rancis said. _Are you just teasing me again? Please say you are.._

"I'm kidding, sweetie," Taffyta said, "I won, by the way. You want to help me grab some things?" _Maybe I shouldn't have teased him just now.._

* * *

Crumbelina drove Jet home.

"I-I don't suppose you'd like to come inside?" Jet asked. _I should make an effort to learn more about her.. I need to think of what to ask her.. Hmm.. Well that's assuming she wants to come in. I hope she doesn't think I'm trying to invite her in for something else.._

"S-sure, why not?" Crumbelina said. _He wouldn't be inviting me in for something like that. At least he'd better not be.. No, he's better than that._

They went inside and picked up the groceries.

Jet pushed himself back into the sofa in his living room and said, "I was thinking for a while now.. You know pretty much everything about me, well most of it anyways, but I don't know much about you." _Points for not butchering that sentence._ "I'm not really sure where I should start though." _Favorite color and things like that is all I can think of, but that's kind of pointless right now. I'd guess probably a cream color though._

Crumbelina sat in a nearby reclining chair so she could look him in the eye and said, "Okay.. Well I'm not sure where I should start either." _I'd rather not bring up anything depressing.. But then again he's told me pretty much everything so far without hiding anything.._

"So what's your backstory?" Jet asked, "I know your mom owns the place we eat at all the time, but aside from that I don't really know much about you aside from your personality.. And that you usually order bruschetta.." _The waitress did say it was her usual anyways._

Crumbelina took her hat off because it felt a little hot. _I guess I'll have to talk about it.._ "Well, like you said, my mom runs the place.. But she doesn't actually do the cooking or manage the place anymore." She sighed. "The truth is, she's been diagnosed with some weird condition that's left her bedridden. The game developers didn't really specify what condition it is.. It's not something I really like talking about for obvious reasons.. Only a few racers even know about it." _At least they didn't program her dead, but she's still bedridden all the same.. I don't know __**why**__ they thought that was a good idea._

"O-oh.. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable asking all of a sudden.." Jet said. _Smooth move, man. You're doing __**such**__ a great job here._

"No.. It's okay," Crumbelina said, "Compared to what you've been through this is.." _It's still pretty bad.. No, I can't let myself cry right now.. It's not like she's going to actually die.. I've been over this already.. __I wonder how she's doing right now. I should check on her..  
_

"Is that what you're programmed to be racing for?" Jet asked. _Using the prize money to pay for some kind of operation __or something?  
_

"Yeah, that's basically it," Crumbelina said, "I was a racer before that too, but it was more just for fun back then." _The fancy clothes and kart is more for show than anything else.. __Mom likes watching the races from home, I have to put on a good show for her._

* * *

"Alright, so who wants to go first?" Calhoun asked. _First come, first served. In other words, who here is the most confident in their ability? I'd like to get a good look at their form before trying anything myself._

"I reckon I could go first," Felix said, "Age before beauty." _Well technically I'm not that old, but my game sure is. __Sure feels weird without my gloves on.. My hands are getting a little cold._

"Looks like we've got our first contestant," Calhoun quipped. _I'm sure you're good at bowling, but I'm not sure what technique I could pick up from someone so short.. No offense Felix._

Felix grabbed his chosen ball, a slightly smaller sized ball due to his short stature. It was sky blue and weighed 16 pounds. _Let's do this._ He effortlessly bowled a strike. _That should show them how it's done._ He smiled and returned to his seat next to Calhoun.

"Pfft," Leon said, "Lucky. So how often did you used to bowl, Felix?" _Now the truth will come out. He never avoids a simple question._

"Oh, well I used to bowl with Mario and the gang quite a lot when it first came out," Felix said happily, "Oh, and the guys from Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat.. There was no real reason we stopped, things just kept interrupting our plans and we eventually stopped coming." _I wonder if we should invite them along sometime.. Come to think of it poor Ralph would find it impossible to play this game without destroying the place. __But then again he's gotten a lot better about that recently. The problem would be finding an appropriate ball.._

"I see," Leon said. _Hot shot. I've gotta show what I can do as well.._

It was Leon's turn next, being the de facto leader of his group. His ball was navy blue and also weighed 16 pounds. His form wasn't as good as Felix's, but he bowled a strike as well.

"Nice job!" Minty said excitedly, "I hope I can manage.." _They make it look so easy.. __Oh no, i__t's my turn soon! I need to see how others do it more.. __I__t would be nice if Leon showed me personally.. No.. That'd be too embarrassing.._

Calhoun's ball was jet black and also 16 pounds. _If this weight is good enough for those two, it's good enough for me. _She emulated Leon's technique as best she could and knocked down 4 pins on her first turn, and 3 more on her second then said, "Whoever laughs gets toilet duty." _Go ahead, see if I'm kidding._

"It was actually pretty good for a first try," Felix said, "It just takes a little practice."

Minty anxiously stroked her mint green 12 pounder. _I'm not ready for this.. But it's my turn urgh.. At least I got to see a few people do it first.._ She tried her best, but in the end she knocked down 5 pins total. _Great.. I put us behind, didn't I? _She ran back to her seat and said, "Sorry!"

"It's alright," Leon said with a smile, "We're here for a good time, not necessarily winning." _But I do want to wipe that grin off their faces. I would have liked to show her up close and personal-like, but there's way too many people watching to do something like that.. ugh.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** There's just no way I could have written grocery shopping while keeping it interesting enough to include, haha. Also, I'm not going to do the entire bowling game, just their first turns and then say who won at the end. It'd be kind of unnecessary to go any further than that.

In this chapter there is also a problem presented, but the solution is actually pretty simple.


	21. Chapter 21

Vanellope sighed and said, "So how did that Bobby guy find out about it anyways?" _I guess it doesn't really matter though.._

"Probably just overheard someone talking here," Vannie said. _There, I finally got to say something for a change._

"So what do you think of him, Vannie?" Vanellope asked, "You must have been there too." _She seems calm about it too.. I just don't know what to think about all this._

"Well he seems nice from what little I've interacted with him," Vannie said, "I didn't expect him to have a girlfriend though. At least not so soon. And especially not someone like Crumbelina. Although she is one of the more empathetic racers, so maybe she saw something in him. I don't know.." _Kind of wish I could talk to her about him a bit. Just to find out what exactly it is she sees in him.. Then again those two always seem to be together._

"She's being a little careless, if you ask me," Ralph said, "Not like I'm one to talk.."

"Okay, so we've eaten and talked.." Vannie said, "Where else shall we go?" _I'm on a roll. I may sound a little impatient, but otherwise these two would just dominate the conversation again._

"Well, I figure I should at least go tell Clyde about me bringing Jet to the meeting tomorrow," Ralph said, "I imagine it would be best if he knew what to expect to keep the others from freaking out too much.. By the way I can't make it to your race because of the meeting as well, unfortunately. They're pretty early and last a while." _I'm __**really**__ sorry about that Vanellope. Three days in a row, she's going to be furious.._

Vanellope sighed and said, "That's alright. Since I know what's going on, it can't be helped. But you'd better make it the night after." _It's just one thing after another. __I can't just push the race until the arcade is about to open. __At least I got to see Ralph and Vannie today. __I wonder how the meeting will go. I kind of want to see this Jet guy now just to see how he behaves._ _I'd like to see Crumbelina too. She's his girlfriend? What's up with that?_

They left the supply closet in Tapper's and received an odd look from a member of the Foot Clan who had been digging through the lost and found box.

They went to Pac-Man since Ralph wanted to talk to Clyde. He usually stayed in the 'ghost pen' pacing back and forth thinking.

"So this is the Bad-Anon room?" Vannie asked as they entered the center of the maze in Pac-Man. _Quite a few chairs.._

"Well technically this is the ghost pen," Clyde said, "But this is where we have our meetings, yes. It's nice to meet you. My name is Clyde." _You need not say anything Ralph, I have a good idea who she is._

"Nice to meet you Clyde, I'm Vannie," she said, "Well, you can about guess which game I'm from." _Really I'm sure everyone knows by now._

"This place is cool!" Vanellope said, "Oh is this a coffee machine?" _Ralph never brought me here before! I kind of want to sit in on a meeting, but I'm not a Bad Girl. I don't want to break their all Bad __Guy combo._

"Careful with that, kid," Ralph said. _Don't go burning yourself. _She was deciphering which button to press to get it to make coffee.

"So what brings you here?" Clyde asked. _Did he come to introduce her to me?_

"Did you hear about the new racer in Sugar Rush 2 yet?" Ralph asked. _Might as well see if he knows yet. He might not since he usually holds the fort here.._

"I'm afraid I haven't," Clyde said, "Is there something you would like to tell me about him?" _Is he perhaps a Bad Guy? Does Sugar Rush even have Bad Guys? Bowser is classified as a Bad Guy even though he's from a kart racing game so I suppose it's not too far__-__fetched._

* * *

"I'd love to!" Rancis said happily, "Come to think of it this will be the first time I actually go to your house since we got plugged in." _I'm so glad she agreed. Why did I have to make it so difficult in the first place?_

"Well don't stare when we get there," Taffyta said teasingly, "And don't dig." _Who knows what he might dig up if left alone.._

"Oh you don't have to worry about that," Rancis said, "I'll be on my best behavior, promise." _Although now you've got me curious. But I've already got all I wanted so you'll get no arguments out of me._

It was less than a five minute drive from Rancis' house to Taffyta's. Rancis patiently waited as Taffyta unlocked the door to her house.

"Time to learn your secrets, muahahaha," Rancis teased as they walked inside. _Smells like strawberries, no surprise there._

"Don't make me get a leash," Taffyta said jokingly. _That could be fun._ "We're just here to pick up some spare clothes." _And a few personal things you don't need to know about._

"I getcha," Rancis said, "Aww, I remember when we took this picture." It was a picture of them four years prior, outside a movie theater. "This was back when we first started dating. I still have my copy picked up somewhere." _I think maybe in my closet in a box. Not sure why I don't have it hanging on a wall like this._

"It better not be damaged," Taffyta said, "Knowing how you 'pick up' things." _I'm glad you at least kept it though._

"It's not! Promise!" Rancis said, "So which way is the bedroom? Hmm.. Is it this way?" _If this doesn't get her riled up, I don't know what will._

"That's the bathroom," Taffyta said as she skipped past him and went into her bedroom, "It's this way." _Like I'm going to let him in here before I get there. Not that I have anything that needs to be hastily hidden away. It's just the thought._

"Ooh, so this is your bed," Rancis said as he let himself fall on it, "..Soft.." _I'm getting perhaps a little too excited here.. She really likes strawberries though. Well I guess she was made with that theme in mind so it makes sense.._

"You're being a big help," Taffyta teased. _Not that I really have a lot of things I need to bring with me._

"Sorry, sorry," Rancis said, "So how can I help?"

Taffyta froze for a moment. _Well I don't want him touching just anything.._

* * *

"Couldn't we ask King Candy to help her?" Jet asked, "I mean, he didn't hesitate a bit to add me as a racer. He even gave me an awesome kart. He would surely see no problem in helping your mom." _It's just that simple, isn't it?_

"It.. Well it would be great if he would.." Crumbelina said, "I've never really spoken to him before, so I don't know." _I've spoken in front of him, but I was talking to Ralph when I did it.. It's different. Oh.. I hope he doesn't think I'm a bad person because I yelled at Ralph.._

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Jet said, "Why don't we go there now?" _Game developers can be so cruel.. I'm glad King Candy knows how to alter __character data__. I imagine it would be easy for him to make it so that her mom is completely fine except for the ending cutscene, assuming she's in it._

"S-sure.." Crumbelina said, "How are you not nervous about going see him?" _We don't normally interact with him that much outside of participating in the same races.. Vannie is an exception.._

"He's a nice guy," Jet said, "He was actually the one that suggested that I become a racer instead of staying locked up for the rest of my life." _What a guy.. __I feel bad asking him for a favor, but I'm sure he won't mind_

Without wasting time, Jet had Crumbelina drive over to the castle to talk to King Candy.

"You okay? You haven't said anything in a while," Jet said. _Is she that nervous about talking to him? Well I guess it makes sense. She probably doesn't want to get her hopes too high in case he is unwilling or otherwise can't do it. I__'d better not be __giving her false hope.._

"Yeah, I'm fine.." Crumbelina said, "It's just that it's been on my mind since the game was plugged in.. I don't know what to feel right now." _I hope he can fix it. I hope __fixes it__.._

Jet knocked on the door to the castle. _Come to think of it the guy who opens the door is short, I need to remember that this time.. I hope he's not still mad at me. I guess I couldn't blame him if he is._

* * *

It was Kohut's turn to bowl next. His first roll he knocked down eight pins. _Great.. I hate 7-10 splits._ He rolled again and missed them both. _Noooo!_ _Oh well.._

"Oh, and that would be a split," Leon said, "For obvious reasons.. They can be rough." _Put on a good show, Spears.. Garret. Whatever. __Well I'm guessing he'd prefer Garret. Weird calling him by his first __name after so long though._

Garret rolled his red 15 pound ball down the lane and somehow managed to pick up a spare after knocking down 9 pins on his first roll. _Well it's not a strike, but it's better than Sarge and Kohut at least. I lucked out getting even his much._

Loya got a strike and was quite smug about it without saying anything. _Well that was luck, but they don't need to know that._

Jubileena sighed. _Well it's my turn. I'd better knock at least a few down.._ She got up and grabbed her red 13 pound ball and did her best to copy what she's seen so far. _Come to think of it, __Garret__ must really like the color red, since his bowling ball is red too. Or maybe he picked red because I'm red themed? I'm thinking too much about this right now.. _She knocked down 3 pins on her first roll. _That's what I get for being distracted, or maybe I'm just that bad._ She rolled again and knocked down 1 more. _I guess I'm just that bad. I need to make it go more to the right.._

The game went on like this, nearly tied for most of the game, but in the end Felix managed to carry his team to victory by about 20 points. Despite Loya getting a strike in his first turn, he was quite bad. Nearly as bad as Jubileena.

"Well that was fun!" Minty said happily, "I think I'm getting the hang of it." _I wonder when we can go again. Maybe not so soon.. There are still plenty of other games to visit._

"It was a disaster.." Jubileena said, "You guys made it look so easy." _I did the worst, __but at least not__ by much__._

"To be honest I'm not all that great myself," Garret said, "I lucked out this game. You shouldn't feel bad about it. There's always next time." _Sarge __and Loya __did almost as bad a__nyways__.. _"Did I say that out loud?"

"Say what, Garret?" Felix asked with an innocent smile. _This is the first time I've ever seen someone actually ask that question.. I wonder what he was thinking._

"No, it's nothing," Garret said. _I guess I didn't say that out loud, good._

* * *

**Author's Note:** The Mario game in the arcade is probably actually 'Vs. Super Mario Bros.', but I don't think it was actually named in the movie, and I prefer the idea that Mr. Litwak **really** likes racing games and collects them. For those of you who don't know Loya, he's a soldier in Hero's Duty as well. He's the guy that gives Ralph a disapproving look when Ralph says "Rootin' tootin' ready for shootin'". If you pause it at just the right time you can make out his name on his armor.

If you think about it, game developers really can be quite cruel to some unfortunate characters. And well, I'm not writing any more bowling for a good while, haha.

Please follow/favorite and leave a review, it really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :).


	22. Chapter 22

Ralph explained the deal with Jet in detail, with Vannie interjecting every now and then when Ralph forgot to mention something. Vanellope figured out the coffee maker and grabbed a cup. She added cream and lots of sugar then blew it to cool it down faster.

"That's quite a lot to take in, Ralph," Clyde said, "Since you say he seems genuinely regretful about this it might not be _such_ a bad idea to bring him in.. But I'm glad you came see me first." _I just hope that this doesn't cause much of a ruckus. Some Bad Guys still get looked down on enough as it is. We don't need anything to make that worse after all the progress we've made over the years._

"There seem to be rumors floating around already too," Vannie said, "I wouldn't be surprised if you have a few extra members for the meeting." _I think that one guy earlier was eavesdropping.._

"I hadn't thought of that.." Ralph said. _I hope no one tries to get at him. I can't help but feel that would be my fault for bringing him out. Well, it's not like I want anyone to hurt the guy either._

"Yes, that would make sense," Clyde said with a sigh, "I suppose I should grab a few extra chairs later." _I'll have to notify Zangief and M. Bison about this. They can likely handle any situation if it should arise._

"Alright, well that's all we came here for," Ralph said, "Come on Vanellope, you can finish your coffee on the way out." _I'm glad she didn't make a mess._

"See you later, Ralph," Clyde said as he resumed his pacing about in the room. _I suppose they're in their game about now.. Who would have thought that the Turbo Twins had also gone Turbo? I did wonder what ever became of them.. I shudder to think what Set could have done with that power if he knew how to use it effectively._

The same Foot Clan member was eating cherries outside the gate of Pac-Man.

"I think it's about time we started to head home," Vannie said, "I'm getting a little tired." _I'd like to get up early.. __Is that guy following us?_

"What? Already?" Vanellope asked, "It may be a _little_ late, but come on!" _T__hat gives me an idea._ "Oh! Why don't the two of you sleep over in my game?" _You owe me, Ralph._

"I don't mind," Vannie said with a smile, "We'd better still let my dad know or he'll be worried sick." She laughed. _Who knows what weird scenario he'd come up with in that head of his. __To be honest I'd rather be alone with Ralph again, but this could be fun.._

* * *

"Here, just put these clothes in this suitcase," Taffyta finally said after thinking for a moment, "Just don't unfold them or anything." _And don't stare either._

"Wow, so this is what folded clothes looks like," Rancis said jokingly_. I'm kidding. Of course I fold my clothes. I'm not a savage. _He sat up next to the suitcase and glanced around the room. There were other pictures they had taken over the years. A few of them had Minty in them as well. "I wonder why we stopped hanging out with Candlehead.." _Wasn't it around the same time she started hanging out with Jubileena?_

"I don't know," Taffyta said, "Maybe we should try hanging out with her and Jubileena tomorrow." _I never did get to know Jubileena that well as long as we've been racers. Why is that?_

"Good idea," Rancis said. _Jubileena always seem__s__ a little grumpy. Come to think of it I __rarely see__ her hanging around with __anyone but Candlehead.. Well, and now those soldier guys._

"I was wondering.." Taffyta said, "What do you think of Jet after hearing his full story?"

"Well.." Rancis said, "I don't really know what to think to be honest. I'd still like to hang out with him and be his friend. He's pretty cool. But he was more than just a little weak back then." _Which includes up until just a couple days ago even. __I hope she doesn't get mad at me for having that opinion._ "I'm just glad that he's changed for the better since then."

"Hmm.. Do you think what Crumbelina said might be true?" Taffyta asked, "That he was programmed to do everything with his brother?" _All we are is code in the end.. It would kind of make sense __if he found it hard to leave his side if he was programmed that way__._

"Maybe.." Rancis said, "I mean, he and his brother were twins after all. It makes sense in a way." _What I want to know is what made Set such a psychopath, given what Jet said. Was he programmed to be a psychopath? An off-hand note in his profile that he was a __dangerous guy__? __Or did it just happen randomly?_

"I just can't dislike him for some reason," Taffyta said, "I know what he did was wrong. He makes sure to remind us _all the time_, and yet.. I don't know, maybe I'm just trying to find excuses for him." _I wonder if he'll end up going to __that meeting__.. __I hope everything turns out alright._

"I feel the same way," Rancis said, "It's confusing. At first I only suggested we give him a chance because Crumbelina was hanging out with him.. Well, and then we were eating at the same place. But he's a good guy. At least now, he is." _I'm not sure how well things will go for him, considering there are people still in the arcade that belonged to games he's hijacked in the past._

"I'm glad you suggested it though," Taffyta said, "I didn't want to avoid him like some of the racers are doing. And I certainly didn't want to pick on him.." _I thought maybe he would turn out be this super scary guy who would get us unplugged if we made him mad or something.. I was way off.._

* * *

The castle door slowly opened. Jet bent down a little to greet Sour Bill.

"Sorry about the other day.." Jet said. Sour Bills eyes widened a bit. "We're here to see King Candy." _I definitely freaked the guy out.._

Sour Bill made a serious face and said, "You'd better not be here to start any trouble." He opened the door a bit to let them inside. "Guards, make sure he doesn't make any sudden moves." _What was King Candy thinking making this guy a racer? And now look at him, coming to the castle like it's no big deal._ He reluctantly went get King Candy.

"Jet, ahaha!" King Candy said, "And Crumbelina. I trust everything is alright?" _It's rare to have visitors at the castle. I hope Jet hasn't gotten into any trouble. He seems well compared to earlier. Crumbelina is with him too, though that's not so strange given the circumstances.._

"Well actually, we're here to ask a favor," Jet said, "I hope it's alright with you.. It's a favor for Crumbelina, really.." _It's a little bit harder to talk about now.. Maybe I should let her ask? Or she might be too nervous.._

"Oh. Well. Go ahead and ask," King Candy said hesitantly, "It depends on the favor, really." _What is it, exactly? Is it something serious? I guess it must be if they came here to ask.._

Jet placed his hand on Crumbelina's shoulder. _Do you want me to ask? She's clearly having a hard time getting the words out, maybe I should.._

"W-well.." Crumbelina said, "I'm sure you.. must know about my backstory." _Keep talking.. Keep talking. __I just have to spit it out._

"Oh, why yes.." King Candy said, "Oh!" _Is it about that? It has to be about that, right?_

"We were wondering.." Crumbelina said nervously, "Could you maybe do something about it?" _Does he know what we're talking about? He seems to.._

"Yeah, you made me a racer and everything," Jet said, "I just thought you might make it so that her mom was fine.. I hope that's not too much to ask.." _To make sure we're talking about the same thing here.._

"I'd like to," King Candy said, "But there's a scene at the end of the game.. Well I guess it can't hurt if she's in her position when necessary.." _I don't see how it could hurt as long as it doesn't make the game seem broken.. Maybe I should check through the rest of the racers sometime as well.. But there has to be a limit to what I should modify.._ "I'll do it.. I'm sorry I didn't think of it before, Crumbelina."

"R-really?!" Crumbelina asked happily, "Thank you!" She hugged him excitedly before realizing she just hugged the king. "S-sorry.." _Please don't change your mind because of that.. He wouldn't do that, right?_

"N-no worries.." King Candy said as he adjusted his outfit, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Rest assured I'll have it done soon.. Go on your way now, it's a secret remember, Jet?" _I knew it was a good idea to make him a racer.. __Still best to keep him at arm's length._

"I'll be keeping me eye on you," Salty Phil said. He was standing behind Jet for a while now. _Ye may be playing the role of a good guy now laddie, but I'll not forget yer previous life._

* * *

"Well that was fun guys," Calhoun said, "Now let's go take care of that thing you were talking about earlier Felix. We'll see you guys later." _Well that was terrible, good thing I wasn't last place. I hope they don't want to come along._

"Huh? Oh right!" Felix said. _She just wants to get away, probably._ "I almost forgot we had something to take care of. Later, fellas!" They left Silver Strike ahead of Leon's group. "Actually there was something I wanted to do before we met up with them. We should probably tell Clyde about Ralph bringing Jet to the meeting. Assuming Jet ends up going." _I'm fairly certain he'll end up going.._

"Good idea," Calhoun said.

They went to Pac-Man to inform Clyde but he was no longer there.

"Well, that's unfortunate," Felix said, "Should we go look for him?" _Not really the best idea to go higgledy piggledy looking for him. Who knows where he could be? But we've not really got anything better to do._

"We could just ask Ashley, she might know," Calhoun said, "She's probably hanging around the gate of E-Z Livin' again. Might need to have a word with Sonny about them constantly getting into fights." _Poor girl has a hard enough time as it is._

Sure enough, that's where she was.

"Ugh, these guys just never give it a rest!" Ashley said exasperatedly. She had more or less adapted to breaking up fights constantly. She **was** trained for this, after all, she just lacked experience. "Hey again, what can I do for you?" she asked happily. _Always good to see you Tamora.. I wish I could say her first name that easily.. __Is it about that guy again?_

"We were wondering if you knew where Clyde from Pac-Man went," Felix said. _She seems to be handling it well enough lately, but these guys sure do get into fights a lot. And always right outside the gate. I guess they don't 'like it'._

"Let's see.." Ashley said, "If I remember right he said he was headed to Street Fighter." _I guess it's a good thing he stopped to inform me of where he was going in case someone asked. I'd rather not stop someone myself unless it's necessary.._

"Why, thank you," Felix said as he tipped his hat.

* * *

"There's something we wanted to ask you," Jubileena said, "We were wondering if you could maybe change out of your armor sometime.." _It's not a lot to ask, right?_

"Hmm.. I can't even remember the last time I wore civvies.." Garret said, "Never really had a reason to change.." _That's actually a really good idea._

"I don't mind," Leon said with a smile, "Just never occurred to me. And it's not like we have to worry about Cy-bugs out of our game." _We keep those babies locked down now, so really the only reason to wear armor would be if there's something __else __going down.._

"So what made you want to see us in 'normal clothes'?" Garret asked teasingly. _I can guess at answers, but I'd like to hear her excuse._

"Well, we were bowling, and it just seemed like it would be more difficult to play," Jubileena said, "And besides, it would make you look less intimidating. Well, I don't mean to say you look scary or anything, but it's more like.. You'd just look more presentable, I guess? And I'm sure you'd get fewer people running out of your way when they see you coming." _I think those are enough excuses._

"What she means is it's kind of hard to date someone if they're always in armor," Minty said, getting straight to the point, "I mean, dating involves hugging and stuff and armor is pretty thick, you know?" _Say what you mean, Jubileena! _She laughed and put a hand on Jubileena's shoulder.

"C-Minty!" Jubileena said while somewhat glaring at her, "Alright fine. There's that too." _That is so not nice of you._

"I get it," Garret said with a laugh, "It's no problem. Just never thought about it, really." _That's kind of a failure in itself I suppose._

"So what sort of normal clothes do you have?" Minty asked, "We could go shopping for some tomorrow if that's fine with you two." _I wonder what would look good on Leon? Maybe a Hawaiian shirt? _She laughed. _Maybe not._

* * *

**Author's Note:** If anyone is disappointed that the issue with Crumbelina's mom has such a simple solution.. Sorry I guess, haha. It was just something I added in to give her a bit of backstory, and to display another potential problem with being a character in a game. And since King Candy is a good guy in this series, I couldn't reasonably make him not fix the obvious injustice (not that I would prefer it not get fixed).

Please follow/favorite and leave a review, it really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :).


	23. Chapter 23

Ralph ran his fingers through his hair and said, "Alright.. I don't see why not." _I suppose it's the least I can do. Still I'm worried.. It feels like we're being watched._

They once again went to Sugar Rush 2 and headed for the castle. They stopped along the road when they crossed paths with Jet and Crumbelina.

"Well this is a surprise," Vannie said. _I wonder what they were doing at the castle._

"Oh hey Vannie," Crumbelina said, "We were just paying the king a visit.." _I'd rather not talk about this. But it's going to be fine soon. He promised.._

"Well Vanellope, this is him," Ralph said with a sigh. _Play nice.._

"You're not very good at keeping secrets, Ralph," Jet said with a sigh. _First he tells me not to tell her, then he tells her himself? Nice job, hero._

"Yeah well, someone knew about you already and one thing led to another," Ralph said pointedly. _Did you make up your mind yet?_

"Someone knew?!" Jet asked, "Hang on.. Who knows? This is bad.." _This is really bad.. I guess I don't have a reason to not go to Bad-Anon anymore. Well no, it's been replaced with another reason. But Ralph would be able to deal with anyone coming after me.._

"So this is the guy from before?" Vanellope asked, "Really?" _Well he does seem normal enough so far.. But then again nobody knew Turbo was King Candy until Ralph came along.._

"Bobby knows," Ralph said, "I don't know if you even know who he is."

"He's that hippiesque guy that goes to Tapper's, right?" Jet asked, "How'd **he** find out?" _Great.. That guy has a big mouth.._

"I don't know. And he says it wasn't him spreading it around," Ralph said, "But it looks like it's gone all around in Tapper's already. So probably a lot of people know about you."

Vannie looked around. _I wonder if that guy is here somewhere too.._ "There he is.. You know we're being followed right?"

"What? Where?" Ralph asked. _How'd this get past me? __I knew it felt like we were being watched._

"Look, the guy with the cherries over there," Vannie said as she pointed him out. _He supposed to be some kind of ninja? He's not very good at hiding.. __Well not like there's anywhere to hide on a long and winding road._

"That's a guy from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.." Jet said in shock. _So someone is already coming after me? This is bad. __N__o this is worse than bad.._

The member of the Foot Clan quickly did flips toward them after dropping his Pac-Man cherries.

"Woah woah, that's close enough buddy," Ralph said as he held his arm out. _Just try to start something, __I dare you._

"You get 5 points," the member of the Foot Clan said calmly as he stopped. His outfit was mostly white, but his torso and boots were black. He had a small red symbol on the forehead section of his hood that resembled a foot.

* * *

Taffyta and Rancis finished packing her stuff and returned to Rancis' house.

"You think Jet will end up going to that meeting?" Taffyta asked. _I can't stop thinking about it.._

"I don't know, probably," Rancis said, "He said he wants to go, didn't he?" _Who knows? Maybe it will be a good thing for him somehow. At least I would like to hope so.._

"Yeah.. I just can't stop worrying about it though," Taffyta said, "I mean, if he does go, something is going to happen. I can feel it.."

"I don't know what to tell you, sorry," Rancis said, "It's something he has to deal with eventually, even if he doesn't want to." _That sounded a little cold.._

"You think maybe we should try to go with him?" Taffyta asked, "Well we haven't even been out of the game yet actually." _I wonder if they would let us in.._

"We can try, but it's for Bad Guys," Rancis said, "They probably won't let us in." _I know you'd like to be there in case he needs some support. I'd go too, but it's just not likely to happen that way._

"Ugh.. I guess that's true," Taffyta said, "It's just so frustrating that he had to get himself into this mess to begin with." _Ralph had better make sure nothing happens to Jet if he decides to go.._

* * *

"Look there he is," Felix said happily. Clyde was sitting in the stands still talking to Zangief and M. Bison as Blanka and Ken had a match.

"I don't like the sounds of this," M. Bison said, "If he's gone Turbo before, how do we know he won't do it again?"

"I think we are missing point," Zangief said, "It is good he is making this choice to come to Bad-Anon. Means he is willfully taking step in right direction."

"Hey fellas," Felix said somewhat nervously, "I hope we're not interrupting anything." _It almost sounds like they're already talking about __him.._

"Ah, Felix. And Tamora. It's good to see the two of you," Clyde said, "Is there something you had on your minds?"

"Well, it's something like that," Felix said hesitantly and fiddled with his hammer, "You see, Ralph has made an acquaintance.." _Best to ease into the subject rather than lay it all out at once.._

"Oh, I see," Clyde said, "Is it perhaps the fellow he plans to bring to Bad-Anon tomorrow, by any chance?" _They would of course know about this by now._

"Well that simplifies things," Calhoun said as she calmly blew her hair out of her eye, "Ralph told you about it already?" _Gets tiring telling this story over and over. That's one less time we've got to do it. I'd like to get some sleep for tomorrow._

"Yes, we were just discussing it," Clyde said, "What is your opinion on this?" _I wonder if she agrees with bringing him out of 'his game'.._

"I'm still somewhat on the fence myself," Calhoun said, "Felix here is the one you should ask, really." _I'm with Ralph on this one. How this meeting goes will decide it for me.. Of course that's assuming he'll show up. But I'm almost certain he will.  
_

"I think Jet means it when he says he regrets what he's done," Felix said as he fiddled with his hammer again, "It's just a feeling I get, that's all.." _He certainly wasn't lying when he said that he and Set only __stayed around__ each other in the past.. That was at least partially his fault as well though.._

"Yes, that seems to be Ralph's view as well," Clyde said with a sigh, "It seems like we should expect a few other inactive members to return as well, and perhaps some new ones.."

"What do you mean?" Felix asked worriedly. _Who?_

"According to Ralph, it seems there are already rumors floating around," Clyde said, "It would be more of a surprise if that weren't the case."

"I think we should stand guard outside tomorrow.." Calhoun said, "If anything happens, it'll have to start at the gateway." _Big guns,__ little__ threat._

"We appreciate the offer," Clyde said, "But we would prefer to make this as uneventful as possible. We'll have William there to help mitigate any chaos that arises. Perhaps Ashley can wait outside the gateway as well.." _Two surge protectors should be able to keep it relatively safe._

* * *

"Uhh.. Well I'm sure we probably have dress uniforms somewhere," Garret said, "We never really had a reason to find casual wear." _**Why**__ didn't I think of this before?_

"Well, we've never really been 'shopping' before.." Leon said, "So we don't really have anything else.." _Not even food, since Burger Time was always right there. The food at the other place is better now too.. _

"Then it's settled!" Minty said excitedly, "We'll get you some clothes tomorrow. We want to make sure it looks good on you anyways." _I wonder if I should get a few outfits too.. Pink is nice and all, but I like green better. It shouldn't matter as long as I'm wearing my racing outfit when we're racing.. I should take my hat off more often too.. Might be weird for people to call me Candlehead if I don't have a candle on my head. Good idea me._

"So are you going to escort us home like proper gentlemen?" Jubileena asked sweetly, "It's getting a little late." _I can't believe I just asked that.. Just roll with it.._

"Wow, it's that time already? Yeah, bring us home!" Minty said teasingly, "Or would you rather two defenseless girls go home all by themselves?" _I have no idea which way our game is from here, but they don't need to know that._

"Of course we'll bring you home," Leon said straightening his back slightly, "Doing otherwise would be unforgivable." _How did I manage to lose track of time like this?_

* * *

"So which one were you?" the Foot Clan member asked seriously and crossed his arms, "Depending on how you answer, things might not get out of hand."

Jet opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally saying, "I'm Jet." _What does he mean how I answer?_

"That's not what I'm asking," the Foot Clan member said as he shook his head, "I'm asking who you were in our game_._"

"I-I was Rocksteady," Jet muttered. _Set was Bebop.. Why does it matter?_

The Foot Clan member eased up slightly, "I see. That's all I needed to hear." He turned to leave but Vanellope glitched into his way.

"That's it? You spy on us, and come all the way into this game to do it," Vanellope said, "and that's all you have to say when you're found out?" _I don't know what to think about Jet yet, but this kind of guy makes me mad._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm going somewhere with this, I promise.

Please follow/favorite and leave a review, it really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :).


	24. Chapter 24 - End of Day 2 - Part 1

"You're a good kid," the Foot Clan member said, "And you're right. Where **are** my manners? I've got all the information **I **needed, so tell me. What is it that you want to know?"

"Well for one thing, why are you following Jet?" Crumbelina asked. _That's the most important thing to know here, isn't it? He seems to be collecting information, but why?_

"Straight to the point, I like that," the Foot Clan member said, "But let me answer your question with another question.. Why **wouldn't** I be following him? We all know what he's done. He is a risk. One that must be assessed to see what action is required."

"And just what exactly do you mean by 'what action'?" Ralph asked coldly. _Should we stop this guy from reporting to whoever sent him? Or is he working alone in this?_

"You'll find out at the Bad-Anon meeting," the Foot Clan member said, "You have my word he won't be touched by us tomorrow. As for the others, well, we have no control over them.. If there is nothing else, I'll be on my way."

"Hang on there Footie," Vanellope said, "Who are the others? Who are we dealing with here?" _If this involves Ralph, it involves me._

"Oh, that reminds me, I've not given my name, how rude," the Foot Clan member said, "Just call me Gary. We Foot Clan members originally didn't have names, you know. I think it rather suits me. As for who the others are? Pick a game he's been in. That's who the others are.. Later!" He ran away.

"Well he's fast.." Vanellope said, "Was there anything else we should have asked him?" _It wouldn't be too hard to catch up with him._

"It's fine.." Jet said, "I guess I might as well go to Bad-Anon tomorrow and whatever happens, happens.." _It was good while it lasted. Hopefully it can last a little longer.._

"I'll come pick you up tomorrow after your race," Ralph said, "We'll want to find a good seat." _I honestly don't know what to make of that 'Gary' guy.._ "Alright, come on you two, it's getting late."

Ralph, Vannie, and Vanellope continued to the castle.

"R-right.." Jet said, "I'm sure it will be fine." He looked over to Crumbelina. _I'm not sure it will be fine._

Crumbelina sighed and said, "Liar.."

"Yeah, sorry.." Jet said, "I lied.. But I can't avoid it, that much is painfully obvious now."

Crumbelina stood there in deep thought. _What am I going to do with him? I'd rather not leave him alone like this. Who knows what might happen? What if someone comes after him while he's sleeping? What if he decides to disappear? No, that last one wouldn't happen.. Come on.. Well I could invite him over to my house to meet mom.. I wonder if King Candy __healed her__ yet.. I'd rather her be feeling great when I introduce him to her.._

"Did you hear me?" Jet asked jokingly. _She must be really worried.. Somehow that makes me happy, but I'm not happy that I feel happy about that.. Shut up brain._

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Crumbelina said, "What did you say?" _I should have been paying more attention._

"It's nothing.." Jet said, "I just can't keep avoiding the issue, you know? Eventually whoever they are, they're going to want answers." _Or blood.._

"W-why don't you come over to my house?" Crumbelina asked, "I-I mean, you know.. In case anyone comes after you, they're less likely to get away with whatever it is they would try to do if there's two of us. And you can meet my mom too.." _Great.. That came out terrible. Why is this so hard?_

"I-Oh well.." Jet said as he nervously scratched the back of his head. _I'd love to.. That much should be obvious, but if someone does come after me, then that means that she would get involved in this too. I'd be a little more okay with it if something happened to only me. Although I'd really hate for anything to happen at all, but it's possible.._

Crumbelina sighed. _Should I try telling him to just come with me? But that might have the opposite effect.. __Should I just__ say please? _"Please?.. If for no other reason than because I want to be with you." _Agh.. What am I saying?! Of course I mean that, but still.. Ugh, so blunt.. You'd better accept Jet, otherwise I don't know what I'd do after saying that.._

Jet fought the urge to smile. _I'm sorry, that was __sweet__.. If she's that adamant about it, I shouldn't refuse.. I mean, I'm sure I'll just end up sleeping on the couch or something anyway. If anything happens then.. Well I'm sure they would only be after me in the first place._ "Alright, you win.. I can't say no after you said all that.." He smiled.

* * *

"Is dad home?" Vannie asked Sour Bill as they entered the castle. _He should be, it's getting late.._

"He's currently in the code room," Sour Bill said in his usual monotone. _It's no secret to them anyway._

"The code room?" Ralph asked, "Why?" _It would have to be something to do with Jet.. Is he monitoring Jet or something? I couldn't really blame him if that's the case.._

"He can explain it better," Sour Bill said. _It's not my place to say.._

They went down the hidden elevator behind the throne and made their way to the code room.

"Dad? You in here?" Vannie asked loudly into the darkness of the code room. _Should I go in?_

"Just a minute, I'll be right out," King Candy said, "I'm just finishing up." _Still can't get over the fact that some people use a safety cord in here. I'll have to look into the other racers some other time. Memories are off limits of course. Jet was the exception._ He floated toward the hallway connected to the code room. "What is it dear? If it's about dinner.."

"No no, it's just Ralph here wanted us to make sure you knew we were spending the night at Vanellope's castle," Vannie said. _I wonder if he'll __mind.._

"That's right," Vanellope said happily, "Stinkbrain here has been missing my races, so he owes me." _Well he doesn't stink right now. Maybe I should come up with another nickname.. You're making it __difficult Ralph.._

"Oh, is that so?" King Candy asked, "Well, just make sure you're back when the arcade opens, ahaha." _Is that all? That's hardly anything to worry about._

"So what was up with Jet leaving the castle a while ago?" Ralph asked, "Anything to do with why you were in the code room? Nothing happened, I hope.."

* * *

"Well I'm tired, I'm going to sleep," Taffyta said. _You can either sleep too or do whatever. __Why did that last thought suddenly sound dirty? __Where has my mind gone? I'm not even in the mood for that sort of thing.._

"Good idea," Rancis said.

They went to their bedroom, got changed into pajamas, and turned out the lights.

As Taffyta laid down she said, "So what do you think we should do tomorrow?" She sighed. _I just can't stop thinking about this at all. I want to try hanging out with Candlehead and Jubileena, but they've got boyfriends now, I wonder if we would make it awkward. I also want to try going to that meeting, but they might not even let us in.._

"We could always flip a coin," Rancis said jokingly as got into bed. _We go to bed and we're still talking about this.. __Did you want to sleep or not?_

"But both sides are the same," Taffyta said tiredly. _That's hardly useful. __Where are we going to find a 'normal' coin?_

"We could flip a slice of bread with peanut butter on one side," Rancis said jokingly. _Everyone knows it lands peanut butter face down __most of the time, hardly reliable__._

"Are you going to be serious or not?" Taffyta said with a laugh. _That does make me feel a little better though for some reason._

Rancis sighed and said, "Well Candlehead and Jubileena will still be here later. I don't see the harm in at least walking there with him.. After that, if they don't let us in, we can just look around for a while." _I should have worded it better.. __I hope Jet will still be here after the meeting __too__..__He may have brought it on himself, but I don't think he deserves to be chased down __or anything__. I'm sure he would try to make it right with them if they gave him that chance.._

Taffyta rolled over into him, placing her head on his chest and said, "Let's just go to sleep." _I don't __even __want to think about this right now._

"Alright," Rancis said softly as he wrapped an arm around her. _Definitely shouldn't have said 'they' would be here later. __Jet you'd better come back after that meeting.._

* * *

"Well, that shoots down my plans," Calhoun said disappointedly, "There any other way we can help?"

"You can try luring people away with a distraction," Clyde said, "Other than that I believe we've got everything under control." _Sorry Tamora, there's just no need for violence here. At least I would like to think so._

"I think will be fine," Zangief said, "They try something, we politely escort them out before problem escalates."

"If they don't like that, we'll go Street Fighter 2 on 'em," M. Bison said with a smirk.

"Alright," Calhoun said as she turned to leave, "Come on Felix, it's past your bedtime." _I shouldn't take it out on him. I'll apologize when we're alone.._

"Aww, but I wanna stay up late," Felix said playfully, pretending to throw a tantrum, "See ya later, fellas." _I understand her frustration. I'd like to be there too. Oh boo, me and my Good Guy status. Well Ralph will be there, so it will be fine._

They left and went to Felix's penthouse in East Niceland for the night. She did end up apologizing, even though Felix knew she didn't mean to pick on him like that.

* * *

"Would you like us to escort you the rest of the way?" Garret asked. They had just gotten to the gateway of Sugar Rush 2. _Well, not that I'm expecting anything to happen. Jubileena still seems to be keeping her distance, not that I can blame her with this armor, I guess._

"That's fine," Jubileena said. _I'd like to talk to him in private. I love hanging around with Can.. Minty, but it's embarrassing enough as it is without us being in a group __all the time__._

"Hear that Leon?" Minty asked, "You're gonna bring me home too, right?" _I think she wants to talk to him in private.. I guess it's kind of hard for her around other people. She's always been like that. Hang in there Jujube._

"Affirmative," Leon said. _Ugh.. Why is that my go-to way of saying 'yes'?_ "I mean, of course." _Sounds better, but I already messed that up, oh well._

Minty laughed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Unfortunately tomorrow's chapter won't have Felix, Calhoun, Taffyta, or Rancis since this chapter finished off their night before the others. I just don't think it right to stretch it out just for the sake of including them.

Please follow/favorite and leave a review, it really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :).


	25. Chapter 25 - End of Day 2 - Part 2

**Author's Note:** Go grab something to eat and something to drink. It's a long one.

* * *

"So this is your house," Garret said, "It looks very cherry." _Laaaame. Why did I just make that awful pun?_

"Haha, yeah.." Jubileena said, "Would you like to come inside and talk for a while?" _We're finally alone and I say talk.. Well I do want to talk though._

"I'd love to," Garret said cautiously. _I wonder what she wants to talk about.. Should I say something first when we're inside?_

As they went inside, Jubileena said, "Make yourself comfortable, I'll put some tea on.. Oh, unless you'd rather something else to drink.." _Buying time, buying time.. What do I even want to talk about?_

"Ah, tea is fine," Garret said as he sat down in a chair. _Wow this is soft.. Marshmallow? I haven't had tea before, I hope it's good.. __How can I make conversation? Should I ask her about herself? Yeah, okay, but what to ask?_

"So you guys are always in armor, then?" Jubileena asked. _I honestly don't really even care what the answer is right now, I just need to at least say something.. It's a good thing that this tea is ready almost instantly. I'd rather be sitting down when I talk.._

"Ah, yeah. Well since we never really know when Cy-bugs will attack.." Garret said. _She annoyed about that? Well I wouldn't really put it past her. _"But I guess that's kind of pointless lately since there are more safeties in place now that Sarge knows about our code room."

"Y-yeah, I see.. Leon was fiddling around in there when Minty and I met him," Jubileena said, "He didn't really seem to know what he was doing though." She laughed. _Anyone would have noticed.. __Tea's done.._ She walked over with two cups of tea and packs of sugar.

"He's a bit.. Well it's complicated.. Thanks," Garret said, grabbing a cup, "He's by no means a bad guy, I assure you.. But he wasn't programmed to be the brightest.. And then there's the matter of how he was treated until just a couple days ago.." _Between him, Loya, and I, I wonder who has had it worst.._ _If I think about it though, if it weren't for those tw__ins__, I likely wouldn't have even met Jubileena.. I'm actually kind of thankful, as messed up as that is._

"W-what was it like? Being controlled, I mean," Jubileena said before hastily adding, "Y-you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." _Maybe that's a little too nosy? Of course it's not a fun experience.. What a stupid question.._

"As weird as it sounds, I'm not even mad about the whole ordeal," Garret said taking a sip of tea. _Definitely needs sugar._ "Being controlled was.. Well clearly it wasn't fun. But in a way it was interesting. It was like watching a movie in really good 3D, except I couldn't look away or ignore anything no matter what I tried to do. The guy obviously knew everything I was thinking. Sometimes he'd talk to me if we were alone. He was a real sadistic one. Oh, but that was the one that died. I don't really know anything about the guy that was made a racer other than the fact that they were twins."

"You're not mad about it?" Jubileena asked, "Why wouldn't you be mad about it though?" _I imagine I'd be seeing red.._

"Are you ready for a sappy answer?" Garret asked jokingly, "It's gonna be sappy.. I just feel as though if all that hadn't happened, I might not have met you, or.. Well okay I probably would still have been friends with M.. with Leon. Besides, the guy that controlled me is dead anyways. I can't stay mad at a dead man." _I told you it'd be sappy._

"That reminds me.. I'm a fireball, am I?" Jubileena asked with a smile, "I was wondering what exactly you meant by that earlier." _Why did I ask that all of a sudden?_

"Haha.. Well, it just sort of came out on the spot," Garret said, "It's partially because you're dressed in all red, probably. And for a while I was wondering if you maybe had a temper. Oh! But that's not necessarily a bad thing, I just meant.. Uh.. Well I don't know, but that doesn't mean I didn't like you, or that I don't like you now.." _I think I just messed up.._

Jubileena sighed and leaned back into the couch then said, "Yeah.. I've been trying to work on that.. I've always just sort of been the loner type until Minty started hanging out with me... It's not that the other racers would avoid me or anything, I just don't feel very comfortable in groups. I usually just end up following the flow, even if I don't really like where it's going.. But Minty is a sweet girl and we always end up taking turns choosing what to do, something that's a little more difficult in larger groups. I have a hard time saying what I want in case it's the unpopular opinion." _Talking about this is the least I can do after he answered my stupid questions so seriously.. I wonder if he still wants to date me after hearing all that.. Maybe I should have kept it to myself.._

"You should voice your opinion more often.. I'm sorry if you didn't have fun today," Garret said seriously, "I know you had a rough time.. I would have preferred if it were just you and I with Leon and Minty too, but it just sort of.. happened." _At least now I can understand her a bit better now. I had no idea she felt like that.._

"No.. It's not that I didn't have fun. I did," Jubileena said as she lightly pulled on her hair before taking a sip of tea, "It's just that.. Well, I'm clearly not very good at bowling, haha. I don't know how Minty did so well.." _This is going a lot better than I thought it would.._

"It's fine though," Garret said with a smile, "I mean, it's not so easy learning something completely new in one go. Minty did do well though, I was a little surprised. You sure she's never played bowling before?" _So much easier to talk to her without anyone else around.. I wonder if she would mind if I came __by__ tomorrow too.._

"So are you looking forward to tomorrow?" Jubileena asked jokingly, "Guys don't usually like shopping.. At least that's the impression I get." _Not sure what makes me think that though.._

"Oh, absolutely," Garret said, "I mean, I'm used to wearing armor, but it does get uncomfortable." _I can hardly even appreciate the softness of this chair._

"I'm glad to hear that," Jubileena said with a laugh, "Don't worry, we'll help you pick out something that looks good." _I wish we could have talked like this earlier.._

"I think I'd better get back.." Garret said with a smile as he stood up, "Leon is probably waiting at the gateway.. I'll see you first thing when the arcade closes." _Should I risk trying to give her a kiss? That might make her uncomfortable.. I'd rather not ruin the moment.._

"Oh.. Okay," Jubileena said disappointedly as she stood up, "I-I'm glad we were able to talk like this.." _He wouldn't mind a kiss, would he? I've never even kissed anyone except my mom and dad before.. Well I can try.. Well am I going to try or not?_

"Me too," Garret said, "I'd like to come back tomorrow and talk some more, if that's alright with you. Doesn't matter what about, really.." _Leon is still waiting probably.. Or I don't know, maybe he didn't even get to the gateway yet._

"Then it's a date," Jubileena said before giving him a light kiss on the lips. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach. _It's a start, I guess.._

Garret laughed a little. _That was a little surprising, but I'll take it. _"Here, you can have one from me too." He kissed her much the same way she kissed him. _Glad she didn't pull away from that, was worried she might think I was being too eager.._

Jubileena hugged him and jokingly said, "Yeah, the armor definitely has to go.. See you tomorrow."

"Later," Garret said as he finally left. _This is the best day ever.. I'd better stop smiling so much. Leon will know something happened. Well it was just a couple kisses and a hug, but still.._

* * *

"Welcome to my home!" Minty said excitedly, "I kind of wish it were green, but pink is fine." _Every time I see it I just want to take a bite._ "Would you like to come in for a bit?"

"Af-Sure, okay," Leon said as he walked inside after her. _Gotta stop saying affirmative. And is that a bite mark in the corner there? Couldn't be.. Don't stare at it._

"So what do you think of Garret and Jubileena?" Minty asked as she plopped herself down on her couch. _I wonder if what I mean is clear enough.._

"You mean like, as a couple?" Leon asked as he sat down on the couch a seat away, "I think they look good together." _Although I don't think that any of us have really opened up to each other yet.. Maybe now's a good time.. __But maybe I should have sat in the chair instead.. Well I'm not about to get up now that I've sat down._

"Yeah, that's what I meant," Minty said with a smile, "It may not look like it, but Jubileena is trying hard. She's not really used to groups of people.. I'm happy they're getting along." _If it's just the two of them, I think she should be fine.. I was surprised Jujube was the one to ask if they would take us home.._

"She didn't seem to be enjoying herself much today," Leon said, "I was wondering if it was something I said.." _She did get a little mad when I accepted Sarge's challenge.._

"She'll warm up to you eventually," Minty said, "You just have to realize that she used to prefer to be left alone. But don't tell her I said that, she might not like that I told you." _I think it'll be fine if he knows.._

"I'll be sure to keep you telling me between us," Leon said, "So how did you two start hanging out if she wanted to be left alone?" _I hope that's not too personal. She did start talking about it, so it should be okay to ask.._

"Oh, I just kept talking to her," Minty said, "After a while we just started hanging out together. I do miss hanging out with Taffyta and Rancis though, we used to always play together as kids when we first started racing.. I wanted the four of us to play together, but like I said before, she's not comfortable in groups." _Well now I remember.. I don't know how I did to forget before.. That's why little me is always with Taffyta and Rancis in the other game. I wonder if little Jujube is still playing alone all the time.._

"So what made you decide to become a racer?" Leon asked, "In your backstory, I mean.." _Clearly she was programmed to be a racer, otherwise she wouldn't be one. But I'm sure there's a reason behind it. There usually is nowadays.._

"I just thought it'd be fun, that's all," Minty said with a laugh, "Lots of kids were starting to race back then so I joined in. I'm pretty good at it too as you've seen." _One of the best!_ "So what made you decide to be a soldier? What's your backstory like?"

_Oh boy, here we go.._ "Well, haha.." Leon said, "Funny thing, really.. They didn't give me a reason why, but I guess it would be something about protecting humanity, since that's why we were sent to the Triad System in the first place... As for my backstory, well I'm really scared of bugs, haha.. I'm sure you must know that already from when we first met. Aside form that there really isn't anything worth sharing. It's not the best backstory, but it's what I've got.. I was probably meant to be a joke character or something.." _Well, at least the developers had the decency to not make me completely useless like I originally thought.._

"What about since getting plugged in?" Minty asked, "Your game was here for a while, right?" _I know how that feels.._

"Oh, well I told you when you and Jubileena brought Garret back to Hero's Duty the other day that someone had been tampering with the code. Jet's brother had changed the stats given to me to make me die more often during open hours. It was pretty depressing, but I'm over that now since it's all taken care of."

"What was it like fixing it?" Minty asked excitedly. _I wouldn't even know where to begin with all those boxes and wires.._

"It was pretty awesome, I guess," Leon said happily, "I had to wing most of it though, it was my first time doing anything like that." _And I was lucky as hell.._

"Oh, I should have offered you something to drink.." Minty said, "Would you like anything?" _This is the first time I've had anybody over since we got plugged in.. I'll keep that in mind for next time._

"..Sure, what do you have?" Leon asked. _Sorry Garret, I may be a while.. Of course he might be chatting it up too, so no biggie._

"I've got coffee, milk, mint tea, umm.. Well I doubt you'd want just water," Minty said. _We both know what he's going to answer. At least I hope he answers with that. I wanna drink tea anyways._

"Well I've never had mint tea before," Leon said with a smile, "Or any kind of tea at all, so let's go with that." _Nailed it._

Minty laughed and said, "Alright, it won't be long." She got up to make some delicious mint tea. _Obvious answer was obvious.. _"So what's your favorite color? Random question.." _He'll probably answer with green._

"I've never really thought about it," Leon said, chuckling, "Hmm.. I think probably gray, or maybe like a midnight blue." _Thought I'd say green, huh? Well I'm not going to lie just because it seems like the 'right' answer.._

"Ding, tea's done," Minty said as she brought it over and sat back down, "I like green. But those colors are cool too, I guess." _Not sure if I should be happy that he was honest about it or disappointed it wasn't green. It's just color preference anyway. _"It's hot. And I recommend putting sugar, lots of it.." She handed him a cup. "So are you really not mad at Jet? I mean, wasn't he one of the guys that messed with your code?" _I would probably be mad at him. Well if he was really sorry I'd let him try to make it up to me though.. __It would depend on how sincere he'd be about it too.._

"Actually Jet didn't do anything to me personally.." Leon said and took a gulp of tea, "We looked into it and Jet didn't even go in the code room. Loya is really the only one Jet wronged in our game. I'm sure Loya probably hates him, but he wouldn't hurt him or anything, at least I don't think so.." _He was pretty annoyed for a while when he heard Jet got let go.. Going on about how the guy was a crybaby, making his character cry and stuff.. How much of that is true, I don't know.. _He finished his tea in another gulp. _ I can't stay here all night, supposed to meet Garret at the gate.._

"Oh.." Minty said in mild surprise, "Well that's good news, kind of." _Did he even taste it?_

"I uh.." Leon said, "I hate to go, but Garret is probably already at the gate out of here by now." _I couldn't have said that more smoothly?_ He stood up slowly. "I'll see you first thing when the arcade closes though, no question."

"Aww," Minty said disappointedly, "Well if you gotta go, I guess I shouldn't stop you." She stood up. "Here." She hugged him, or rather his armor and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "W-would have been better without the armor. I'll see you tomorrow, bye." She pushed him out the house excitedly. _Well I'd been holding that in for a while.. Stupid, hard armor. I wonder how they even put all that stuff on, it's so bulky.._

As Leon got to the gate he noticed Garret was chipping away a piece of chocolate to eat.

"Oh there you are," Garret said, "Been waiting for about 10 minutes or so." _If I'm eating something I might not smile as much.._ "Well you're all smiles." _You too, huh?_

"Let's just get out of here," Leon said with a laugh.

They went back to Hero's Duty for the night.

* * *

"Oh it's nothing to worry about, Ralph, ahaha!" King Candy said happily, "I was just doing Crumbelina a personal favor, that's all. It's not something that she would appreciate being spread around, I hope you understand." _Relax, Ralph.._

"Oh.. Okay.." Ralph said, "Forget I asked then." _Makes me kind of curious what the favor was though.._

"Alright, we'll be on our way then," Vannie said happily, "Bye dad."

"You'd better come home in time for the arcade to open, ahaha," King Candy said. _Normally I would be a little worried, but it'll be fine. It's not like he would take advantage of her, especially not with the little one around. Well she can make her own decisions anyway.. I think I should go take a nap.. I'm thinking too much about nothing._

Ralph, Vannie and Vanellope went back to the castle in Sugar Rush after Vannie grabbed a set of pajamas.

"Finally, a sleepover!" Vanellope said excitedly, "Hey Vannie, you wanna sleep in my room? We can talk about Ralph behind his back!" _That'd be great! Make Ralph worry a little what kind of secrets I could possibly reveal._

"I'm right here, kid," Ralph said. _You know that. You'd better not say anything unnecessary._

"That's the **point** Stinkbrain," Vanellope said while pointing to her forehead, "What? You want to join us to make sure you can do proper damage control?" _It's not like I've never snuck into Ralph's house when he's sleeping before. So boring being alone in the castle except Sour Bill, Wynchel and Duncan.. __And the oreo guards.. At least they stop chanting when I go to sleep.. Oh, and King Candy is there too.  
_

"W-what?" Ralph asked in shock, "D-don't be ridiculous. Suppose I smack you by accident while I'm sleeping.." _Geez kid, you're shipping us pretty hard, aren't you?_

"What are ya nuts?" Vanellope asked, "Ralph, when was the last time you hurt someone by accident? How many times did you pick me up, shake peoples' hands and whatnot? Why you worried about something stupid like that now?" _Does he think he can't control his strength for some reason? Sure he's clumsy, but there's limits.._

"H-huh?" Ralph said, "..Wait.." _That actually does make sense.._ "My brain must still be a little scrambled from being reset." _Am I worrying over nothing? __Maybe I am.. But still, c'mon kid.._

"Eggbrain? No.." Vanellope said to herself, "Agh.. This is harder than I thought." _Did I say that out loud?.. I need to figure out a new nickname for him if he's going to keep smelling good._

"Huh?" Vannie asked with a laugh, "What's that Vanellope?" _Eggbrain? She thinking of nicknames?_

"Well if he's not going to stink, I can't really call Ralph Stinkbrain now can I?" Vanellope said dismissively. _She heard me.. Perhaps two heads are better than one.._ "Ideas?"

"I got one. How about Ralph," Ralph said plainly, but with a smile. _It's cute and all, but c'mon kid._

"Hmm.. Well I don't know. It's a tough call to make.." Vannie said with a smile. _Hmm.. I wonder what a good one would be.._

"C'mon, not you too," Ralph pleaded. _This will be trouble.._

"And you didn't answer my question, Ralphie," Vanellope said teasingly, "Ya wanna sleep in my bed too or not?" _I'm being half serious here, you know. King Candy ain't got nothing on your daddy status. __How could I see anyone else as a dad, huh Ralph? __Hmm.. Would that make Vannie kind of like a mom? That wouldn't be so bad. I could see that.._

"No way," Ralph said, "I'd take up the whole bed." _You're making it just a little awkward.. I mean, it's just sleeping, but still... Aw, come on. Don't look at me with that sad face.._

"Pleease?" Vanellope asked. _Last try.. _"My bed is huge!" _It actually is.. Way too big._

"Shame on you Ralph, you're gonna make her cry.." Vannie said. _I'm not sure if I like the kid's style, but if Ralph wants to join us, I won't mind so much. Vanellope would be a good mediator.  
_

Ralph sighed. _I really shouldn't let her trick me into this. It's not like she hasn't snuck into my house before.. I do remember that now.. But this situation just makes it so awkward.. Is she doing this on __purpose? Is this the new kind of harassment I can expect on a daily basis? I shouldn't say it.. I shouldn't accept it.. _"Fine." _Urgh! I said it.._

"Yes!" Vanellope said in triumph, "You'd better not roll over though!" _He's nearly crushed me a few times when he didn't know I was napping with him.._

"Careful, I just might take it back," Ralph said. _I shouldn't have accepted to begin with.. I probably don't have to worry too much, but suppose I do roll over? _He chuckled to himself. _At least there won't be any bricks to crush her with. The kid's crazy though.. It's almost like __**I'm**__ her dad.. Poor King Candy. I wonder how he would feel about this.._

"You better not!" Vanellope said excitedly, "I call middle!" _I get my way. All is right in the world._

Later, when Ralph is trying to sleep. The constant teasing finally having wound down.

"Ralph," Vannie whispered.

"What?" Ralph asked quietly.

"Ralph," Vannie whispered again.

"What?" Ralph asked quietly again. _Really. What?_

"Forget it," Vannie said. _I w__onder if Vanellope is asleep yet.._ She checked, and saw Vanellope was smiling at her. _Guess not.._

"Aww, c'mere you," Vanellope said snuggling up to Vannie. _It's decided, you can be my mommy. Well, __that'__ll be__ my secret__.. __I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I told her though.. But that might be too __wei__rd.._

"Hehe, goodnight," Vannie said as she stroked Vanellope's hair, which was free of candy while she slept. _She's adorable.._

"Night.." Vanellope said. _Best night ever.._

Ralph quietly sighed to himself as he laid there on his back. _Should I risk falling asleep? I'd better not wake up with drawings on my face.. What will it be tomorrow? Air horn again? No, she wouldn't reuse the same thing two days in a row.. Cold water? Probably not.. Frozen marbles? Tired.. Fine, I'll just take it, whatever harassment it is._

* * *

"Mom?" Crumbelina called out, "Are you up?" _Please be okay.. I wouldn't want to make her feel bad having a guest over and her being stuck in bed.._

"Oh, Crumbelina!" Oreanna said, "Dear, guess what!" She quickly walked into the room.

"Mom, you're up!" Crumbelina said excitedly as she ran over to hug her mom. _How can I thank King Candy for this?!_

"I don't know what happened," Oreanna said, "Oh, and we have a guest.. Is this why you were smiling yesterday? My name is Oreanna."

"H-hello," Jet said, "I'm Jet, nice to meet you." _It looks like King Candy managed, that's one less thing on my mind.._

"Mom, this is my boyfriend," Crumbelina said happily, "He.. Um.. How should I say it?.." _I want her to know it's because of his suggestion that she's up and about.._ "He's going to be staying the night, it's a long story.." _That isn't really what I wanted to say.. Where's he going to sleep anyways? I would feel bad about making him sleep on the couch or something.. But the only other option would be us.. sharing.. a bed.. I don't think that should happen yet, no.. I could keep an eye on him better that way, but I'm about at my limit already.._

"Oh?" Oreanna asked seriously with an eyebrow raised, "And just how well do you know this young man?" _Where's he planning to sleep?_

"He's fine, mom," Crumbelina insisted, "He's a good guy, you don't have to worry about anything. He was even the one who suggested I.. ask King Candy.. He um.." _Help me out here a little, would you?_

"..She means that I.." Jet said, "Well I just suggested she ask King Candy to make you feel better.. She kind of told me.." _Her mom certainly doesn't act as if she's ever been ill._

"Hmm.." Oreanna said, "Well, I'll have to make sure to thank King Candy as well then. I haven't felt this great in years." She smiled. "You'll do fine, young man.. Jet, right?" _I suppose I can trust him __then__.. I'll have to cook something really nice for King Candy.. Oh, I suppose I should head back to the restaurant tomorrow. Now that will be wonderful. I wonder how Clareese has been doing._

"Y-yes ma'am," Jet said nervously. _But where will I be sleeping?_

"Alright, go on now, I'll leave you two alone," Oreanna said happily as she sat down on a chair, "I won't be bringing any drinks or anything like that, don't worry." She laughed. _She's a grown up, if she's ready for that, then I won't stop her. She's a smart girl._

"Mom!" Crumbelina said nervously. _That's not really helping me any.. I've never even had anyone in my room before except __her__.._

"Just picking, dear," Oreanna said happily.

Crumbelina sighed and said, "Come on Jet.." _Not gonna do it. Not gonna do it.. I've only even kissed him once.._

As they got to her room Jet said, "Your mom is surprisingly.. I don't know how to put it.." _It would be in poor taste to rush things.._

"I know.." Crumbelina said. _So embarrassing.._ "I'm glad she's happy though. It's been so long since she's been up and about like this. Well, she hasn't since the game was plugged in, but you know what I mean.." _How are we going to do this?.._

"So um.. Where should I sleep?" Jet asked, "It would be pretty awkward sharing the bed.." _There's no chair or anything in here either.. I don't want to risk her mom getting upset somehow if she saw me leave her room to sleep on the couch. She's probably got her fill of sleeping too so she'd be watching __me like a hawk out there.._

"Well there's really no other choice unless you want to face my mom again," Crumbelina laughed nervously. _Mooom! She had to have done this on purpose.. __Why in the world would she do that? I said he was my boyfriend, but how long do you think we've been plugged in?_

Jet nervously ran his fingers through his hair and said, "Well I could take one side and you take the other.. Or I could sleep on the floor.." He laughed. _I'd really rather not sleep on the floor though. If I don't touch her she should be okay, right?_

"No, it's fine.." Crumbelina said in resignation, "I mean.. Just sharing a bed.. It's fine, right?" _I guess I can keep watch on him easier at least. Not like he's going to run away though. Not with my mom out there.._

"If you're okay with it," Jet said, "I'll keep my hands to myself, promise." _Unless you don't want me to, I mean.. I'd be okay with it up to a certain point.._

"You're making it harder on me," Crumbelina laughed nervously, "This is just awkward.. You don't have to be that worried about it.. I mean, well, I don't know what I mean.." _Keep your cool Crumbelina.. It's just a bed.._

"R-right.." Jet said, "Well goodnight.." He let himself fall onto the bed. _Be still my heart. I shouldn't be thinking about this when I'm basically going before the jury tomorrow.. __I need to sleep.. If anything I should be thinking of what I should say tomorrow.._

Crumbelina turned out the lights and got in bed. _Calm down.. I didn't even change into pajamas.._ She took her hat off and threw it onto the floor. "You're not cold, are you?" _I shouldn't be moving so fast, right?.. Why can't I just go to sleep already before I embarrass myself more? I'm making this even more awkward.._

"A little," Jet said. His face was pressed into one of her pillows so it sounded muffled. _What are you saying? _

"You might as well cover up.." Crumbelina said nervously, "It's fine.." _It should be fine if we snuggled, right? I don't want to seem like I'm going too fast.. I don't know if I'm going too fast or not.. Mom, why'd you have to push us along? You made it more awkward, now I can't help but do the same.._

"You sure?" Jet asked. _I can't sleep like this, you know?_

"Just do it," Crumbelina said, "You're cold, right?" _At least I know he's hesitant about this too.. It's not just me.._

Jet hesitantly got under the covers and said, "There.. Goodnight again." _Anything more than this is too much.. It's already too much.. I could barely handle that kiss yesterday for crying out loud.._

"Sorry," Crumbelina said, "Just go to sleep.." _I want to get closer.._

"R-right.." Jet said as Crumbelina slid closer to him and wrapped an arm around him.

"Sorry.." Crumbelina said. _I just have to get over it.. He might not be around long if Bad-Anon goes badly.. __And then even if that does go well.._

"It's okay.." Jet said. _I'm sorry too.. If I hadn't been such a bad person in the past there wouldn't be a problem.. I should at least tell her once.. _"I love you.. I don't think I've told you before. I really should have.."

Crumbelina tightened her grip on him slightly and said, "I love you too.. You'd better come back from that meeting.." _Don't you dare disappear.. Not after all this.._

"I will.. I promise," Jet said as he turned to face her and wrapped an arm around her, "I'll do whatever I can to stay with you." _There has to be something I can do.._

"Goodnight," Crumbelina said. _I'll hold you to that._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well! I hope you enjoyed that overly long chapter! I wanted to finish the second day all in one go because I'd rather not leave a pairing out of more than one chapter in a row.. I wasn't originally planning to have Jet and Crumbelina share a bed at first, but it just sort of wrote itself.

Please follow/favorite and leave a review, it really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :).

Please also check out another in-progress story of mine called "Reload"!


	26. Chapter 26

"Hey Ralph," Vannie said, "Wake up already will ya?"

"What'd you do this time?" Ralph asked groggily. _No loud noise. Nothing feels out of the ordinary, well except that I'm not on a pile of bricks.. Still feels weird.._

"We didn't do anything ham-hands," Vanellope said jokingly before laughing. Vannie started laughing as well.

"Really.. What'd you do?" Ralph asked worriedly. _Come on body, work with me here, I know you're getting out of standby, but come on.._ He clumsily sat up.

"We're not telling you," Vanellope said laughing louder.

Ralph scowled. _What'd they do?_

"Really though, we didn't do anything," Vannie said while patting him on the back softly.

"That's the joke," Vanellope said as she hugged him. _If only we could do this every day.._ "Let's go eat!" She ran off excitedly.

"Oh, finally," Vannie said as she kissed Ralph, "Okay get up, I'm hungry too." She got up and followed Vanellope. _Vanellope is such a sweetie. I guess that makes sense, since in a way I used to be exactly like her.._

Ralph lumbered into the dining room. Nobody was there, but he heard laughter in the kitchen and followed it to the source.

"You should come over more often, Vannie," Vanellope said happily, "Oh! Or maybe next time I can go to your house!" _Best sleep I've had since getting plugged in!_

"You move so slow when you wake up," Vannie said to Ralph teasingly, "Still about an hour before the arcade opens." _I don't think I could have slept in the same bed as Ralph without Vanellope there, maybe I should have her over.. I'll never get used to the idea otherwise.. Ralph probably even more so.._ _I knew he didn't have anything to worry about. Almost made me doubt myself._

"We're making pancakes!" Vanellope said. _S-U-G-A-__R. Jump into your racing car. Say Sugar Rush! Sugar Rush!_ _Great now that's going to be in my head all day.._

"Some pretty small pancakes if you ask me," Ralph said jokingly. _Glad to see them in such a good mood. Still worried about later.. Hopefully we can just talk things out without anything happening.._

"These are called 'normal-sized', adoi!" Vanellope said as she flipped a pancake over on the stove, "I doubt you're going to find a pan big enough for Ralph-cakes." She laughed._ Ralph-cakes. I'll have to remember that one._

"What is that delightful aroma, ahaha?" King Candy asked as he walked into the kitchen, "Ah, Ralph! What brings you here so early? Oh, and Vannie is here as well." _Something slightly odd about that.._

"They spent the night!" Vanellope said happily, "It was great!" _Ralph was such a good sport about it. _She quietly hummed the Sugar Rush theme.

"Oh, I see, ahaha.." King Candy said. _Ralph, you fill my role a little too well.. I guess I can't blame either of them. It's good enough that I can at least have a normal conversation with her.._

They ate and left to their respective game starting positions to wait until the arcade opened.

* * *

"Think we should try one last time to get into the meeting?" Felix asked as he stroked Calhoun's hair, "I could argue that if anything happens to Jet, I can fix him up.. Or that you could explain how he managed to hack the games since he doesn't remember. Well that last one might not actually be such a good idea.." _I could say she could intimidate the others into not doing anything, but she might not actually like that.._

"I don't know," Calhoun said as she kissed his forehead, "I think Clyde made it fairly clear it's Bad Guys only.. We might as well just wait outside the gate looking pretty." _I don't know what kind of distraction he would expect us to provide. He probably just said that to make us more likely to give up._

"I guess," Felix said disappointedly, "Jiminy jaminy.. I just wish there was something I could do instead of being a bystander." _Being a hero is in my code. It's hard to just stand around when someone needs help.._

"I imagine a lot of people feel that way about now," Calhoun said as she pulled Felix into an embrace, "They've got it under control. There's two surge protectors that will be right there. And a bunch of capable fighters that go to the meeting regularly.. We just aren't needed this time." _Just grin and bear it.. It's just this once.._

Felix sighed and said, "I know.. That's what makes it so hard.." _At least it's just for a few hours.._ Calhoun blew a raspberry on his stomach. "Hahaha! Cut it out."

"Cheer up, would ya?" Calhoun said sternly, "What would Ralph think if he saw you brooding like this?" _We'd better get up.. Arcade opens in about an hour.._

"Alright," Felix said as he gave her a kiss, "I can always count on you to bring my mood up." _I have to be strong.. Ralph has this under control.. I'll feel better once I get something to eat.._ He watched happily as Calhoun put her armor back on before heading to Hero's Duty. _Simply dynamite.._

* * *

"Morning," Rancis said happily. _Such a nice thing to wake up to. _He hugged Taffyta.

"Mmm.. You woke up before me this time," Taffyta said, "How long do we have before the arcade opens?" _How long has he been up, I wonder?_

"About.. an hour and a half or so," Rancis said as he looked at the clock by their bed, "Oh yeah, I've got food.. Well it can wait though.." _I wish I hadn't said that. I'd rather stay in bed a while longer.._

"So are you happy I moved in with you?" Taffyta asked as sweetly as she could. _Now I get to wake up with him every day. Oh wait.. Right, Jet has that meeting today, I almost forgot.. I wish I had forgotten though.. I was in such a good mood.._

"Of course," Rancis said happily as he gave her a kiss, "I love you, you know?" He hugged her. _She's already thinking about that meeting again.. I know that face.._

"Aww, I love you too," Taffyta said, "Well we'd better eat if you're going to shake off your Captain Starvation title. What do you want?" _Great, now I've gone and offered to cook something. What's wrong with me?_

"How about some tea?" Rancis asked slyly, "T-that was a joke, haha.." _It's just a thought. Should have stayed that way._

Taffyta sighed, "Maybe some other time, lover boy." She smiled sadly and got out of bed. "Today's just a bad day. I want to at least make sure Jet gets through this okay." _At least that's not just on my mind.._ She headed to the kitchen.

"You're right.." Rancis said as he followed her, "How about some eggs then? I could cook if you don't want to.." _Well cooking eggs is easy enough.._

"Scrambled? Omelette? Sunny side up?" Taffyta asked, clearly having decided to cook already. _There's not just the one way, you know?_

"Ooh, omelette," Rancis said happily. _Come to think of it Bad-Anon is filled with fighters, isn't it? Jet should be fine if the other main members are on Ralph's side.. Still haven't met the guy, but he's Vannie's boyfriend so I'm sure he's on our side, and that's what matters._

"I hope Jet's doing okay though," Taffyta said seriously as she started cooking, "He must be a nervous wreck about now.. He's going in front of potentially a lot of people who hate his guts.." _Ralph better keep him safe or I'll burn him so hard.. Oh, I'd better not burn these.. I'd never hear the end of it._

"Maybe.." Rancis said, "But I'm sure he'll be fine. I think that since Vannie is on our side, so is Ralph. And Ralph's friends are probably on his side too.. He's probably got sufficient protection." _It makes sense to me, at least._

They ate and went on their way still talking about it.

* * *

Crumbelina stroked Jet's hair as he laid there still sleeping. _We may have been somewhat forced into this, but it's not so bad.. I don't think we should make a habit out of it yet though.._ She smiled sadly. _Hopefully there will be plenty of time later.. I wonder if I should get up yet.._

Jet, still asleep, hugged her tightly.

Crumbelina quietly laughed. _I guess not.._

A few minutes later he finally woke up.

"Huh?.." Jet said confusedly, "..Oh, right.." He tensed up. _I'm surprised I even managed to get to sleep.._

"You ready for today?" Crumbelina asked sincerely. _We're counting on you Ralph.._

"As ready as I'll ever be.." Jet said as he loosened his grip on her. _I wonder how many of them will show up.._

"You gonna be alright racing?" Crumbelina asked, "Don't go driving into walls now." _He'll be fine I'm sure.. I hope.._

"Racing is the least of my worries," Jet said while forcing a smile, "Besides, the racers will handle my kart just fine if I get picked." _As if I'd drive into a wall._

"I suppose so..." Crumbelina said, "Before when you asked why I liked you.. Um.." _Why did I start saying that all of a sudden? I can't act like I didn't say it now.. _"There was another reason why I wanted to give you a chance.." _How am I going to word it to not sound so depressing?_

"I'm listening.." Jet said. _I knew there had to be something else.._

"Well.. Aside from Taffyta, Rancis, and Vannie, I don't really get along well with most of the racers," Crumbelina said, "I'm not sure why, but they just don't seem to like me.." _I know I'm pretty stubborn sometimes.. But that couldn't be the only reason. We don't even talk to each other anymore.._

"Well it's their loss," Jet said, "I wouldn't even worry about them." _Swizzle did come across a little bit abrasive before.. Is that why he was acting like that? Well, or it could have been just because of me.._

"I just wanted you to know that I'm glad I met you when I did," Crumbelina said as she hugged him, "It made me happy, since I have someone else to talk to now.. Taffyta and Rancis are always off doing their thing, and Vannie has Ralph now.." _Jubileena and Candlehead aren't bad either, but they're always off on their own too.._

"It makes a little more sense now," Jet said softly, "I always thought it was weird you would go so far even knowing what kind of person I was until just recently.. Like really weird. Beyond weird.." _I wonder why the other racers would be like that.. Maybe I should try talking with them about it to see if I can't get them to straighten up.. Well, that's assuming I don't screw up Bad-Anon.._

"It was a little reckless of me.." Crumbelina said, "But you seemed like a good person when we first met. You are, whether you believe it or not.." _Well he's going to disagree with me I think.._

"Well, I wasn't a good enough person before.." Jet said. _We've been over this, I don't need to say more._ "But thanks." _Thanks doesn't cut it._

"In a way you were just like how I am.." Crumbelina said, "I can't even talk to the other racers. Not while knowing the kind of opinion they have of me. Even if they're mistaken about it.. If they ever end up sitting next to me in the stands it feels like I'd have a panic attack just by them being there.." _It's only because Ralph was picking on Jet that I was able to say what I did to him.._ "It's frustrating.." _They never even come to my mom's restaurant.._ "That's why I wouldn't let you say no.. To dating me, I mean.. I'm sorry if I've been too forceful. I don't want you to think I'm that kind of person." _I can't bear the thought of losing you.._

"You don't have to worry about what kind of opinion I have of you," Jet said while hugging her tightly, "You're too good for me.."

"Don't say that," Crumbelina said, "Even if you feel that way it doesn't make me happy when you keep belittling yourself." _I'm glad I finally got that off my chest.._

"Okay, I'm sorry.." Jet said, "..Are you hungry?" _At this rate I'd be starving during Bad-Anon.._

"A little," Crumbelina said.

"I'll cook you something.. Well unless your mom already did," Jet said. _I learned a little in Food Fight.._

They ate and went on their way.

* * *

"So it's a race then," Leon said cracking his knuckles, "What does the winner get?" _A simple foot race to Sugar Rush 2. We'll definitely beat Ralph this time.._

"Winner gets.." Garret said before pausing in thought, "Hmm.. Loser carries the bags. How about that?"

"Challenge accepted," Leon said.

* * *

"I'll definitely win today!" Jubileena said as she looked in the mirror, "He'll be watching the race. I can't go losing two days in a row.." _I wonder what would look good on him.._

* * *

"I wonder if he looks better in grey or blue.." Minty said, "Probably blue.. Grey is a little.. grey." _Oh, I almost forgot to eat!_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well they're not going to have a lot to talk to themselves about really..


	27. Chapter 27

"Vannie!" Taffyta said worriedly as she ran up to Vannie with Rancis following closely behind her, "There you are! We wanted to talk to you.." They were at the race track waiting for the arcade to open. _She would know.._

"Ralph does have a plan, right?" Rancis asked, "For keeping Jet safe, I mean.." _Please say yes.._

"Well I wouldn't really say he has a plan," Vannie said, "But he did tell the leader of Bad-Anon about it, so I'm sure it'll be fine.." _He seems be kind of neutral right now though, as far as Jet is concerned.._

"What kind of person is he?" Taffyta asked, "Did he seem interested in his safety?" _That's at least some good news.. Surely he would at least be interested in his own safety should a fight break out.. There has to be some kind of security.._

"It'll be fine," Jet said as he and Crumbelina joined them, "I'll figure something out.." _I don't want you guys to worry so much.._

"Good luck.." Taffyta said as she gave him a small hug, "You don't think they'd let us in, would they?" _Probably not, but it's worth asking.._

"N-no, sorry," Jet said as he shook his head, "It's always ever been just Bad Guys from what I've experienced and heard from Ralph." _Well technically he was telling Loya __about it, or at least he thought he was__.. Now that I think about it, I wonder what I should say to __Loya__.. He __i__sn't an entirely mean guy judging from his thoughts while I was controlling him.. Hmm.. Well I know he hates me, that much is pretty obvious. __I don't blame him. Maybe I should just stay away from him.. No, that's a bad idea too.. I have to try to make it up to him somehow.. Still no idea how I can do that. It's a little easier for Bad Guys possibly since I can try to make them more accepted in the arcade or something. But maybe that's a little too easy.. I'm not complaining about that though. Well it's not like that would bring back their games, but at least they'd be treated nicer.._

"I see," Taffyta said disappointedly, "Mind if we go along with you as far as we can?" _Come to think of it, I don't even know where it's being held._

"Yeah," Rancis said, "We'd like to at least know where it is, that way we can be there when you get out, whenever that is." _I wonder if there will be a crowd.._

"Sure, I'd like that," Jet said, "It'll be a few hours though so you two and Crumbelina should go have some fun while waiting. At least try to.. It feels weird having people worry about me." _I'm a nervous wreck.. Just try to stay calm and keep thinking about it logically.. It will be fine.._

"Well get used to it.." Crumbelina said sternly. _We're going to worry.._

* * *

"They'll probably have to have it custom made.." Jubileena said offhandedly. _There's no way any store here would have clothes that fit them.._

"Huh?" Minty asked, "Oh, you mean the clothes.. Yeah, that's true, but there's that machine thing.. They probably won't like that much." She laughed. _Those things can get feisty I've heard. Well that's only when it does actual dressing.. I think it'll be fine if it just takes measurements.. _[See note.]

"So how did it go with Leon?" Jubileena asked, "I mean.. Not to go into any details or anything."

"It went good, but he didn't stay long," Minty said disappointedly, "We just talked for a while." _No details. A girl doesn't kiss and tell, right?_

"A-ah, yeah.." Jubileena said, "That's how it was with me and Garret too." _There's no way I could tell her I kissed him.._

"I wonder what they're talking about over there again," Minty said while looking over to Jet's group, "Want to go find out?"

"I'd.. rather not.." Jubileena said, "Besides it looks like they're serious about something.. They might think we're nosy.." _You know I'd be too uncomfortable to even do much talking.. It's different with you and Garret.. Leon is the only odd one out, I can deal with that.._

"Places everyone, It's Litwak!" Yuni yelled from Dance Dance Revolution as she spotted Mr. Litwak pulling into the arcade's parking lot.

"Oh well," Minty said, "I'd like to get to know Crumbelina a little better too.." _Why couldn't the developers have made us all friends to begin with? It'd be so much better like that.._

"Doesn't she seem like she wants to be left alone most of the time though?" Jubileena said. _I can understand that feeling.. Well it's better with Minty and Garret now though.. I wonder if I have more in common with Crumbelina than I thought.._

"No way.." Minty said dismissively, "If she wanted to be left alone, she would be alone." _Well I say that but I kept bugging Jujube until she opened up to me anyways.._

* * *

"Before you even ask, nothing out of the ordinary happened," Ralph huffed, "Vanellope invited us over to her house since I'd been missing her races lately."

"I wasn't going to ask anything of the sort, Ralph," Felix said while pouting and crossed his arms. _So he knew it was coming._ "I imagine Vanellope had a blast having the two of you over."

"You could say that," Ralph said with a smile, "You should have seen the two of them." _I absolutely cannot breathe a word about me sleeping in the same bed as them. I'd die of embarrassment._

"They're a lot alike, those two," Felix said happily, "Well, for obvious reasons.." _He's on guard, how can I extricate more details?_ _No.. I'd better stop that.. Besides, there's more pressing issues.._ "So are you prepared for Bad-Anon? I imagine it's going to be.. difficult." He felt his stomach lurch. _I wish I could go too.._

The smile on Ralph's face faded and he said, "I'm not really sure how I can prepare.. I've already told Clyde about it, I imagine he's told at least Zangief and M. Bison.. They're better at coming up with stuff than I am." _It would have been nice for you to come along, but I guess that would go against Bad-Anon's principles.._

"I wish I could be there with you," Felix said sincerely, "Tammy does too.. Just be alert. I'm sure you can handle anything that gets thrown your way.." _I have to act confident for his sake.._

"Oh, by the way.." Ralph said, "There was this weird Bad Guy from Ninja Turtles following me around before.." _It's worth noting.._

"Bad Guy?" Felix asked, "Following _you_?" _What?_

"Well more specifically he kept spying on conversations I was having. Conversations about Jet.." Ralph said, "He was collecting information on Jet. He didn't exactly seem hostile, but he wasn't up to any good either.." _I imagine he'll probably be at the Bad-Anon meeting.. But then it would make sense for either Rocksteady or Bebop to be there.. Or both. Or all three.._

"Why didn't you bring something like this up sooner?" Felix asked worriedly, "I mean.. Even if he wasn't openly hostile, you never know what he could be planning.." _He must be working for someone.. He was from Ninja Turtles.. Was it Shredder? Maybe Tammy and I should pay a visit to Splinter to see what he thinks about all this.._

"Places everyone, It's Litwak!" Yuni yelled from Dance Dance Revolution.

"I don't know, but you heard the girl," Ralph said as he walked away. _Time to put on my game face.._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Next chapter: Bad-Anon. Well, with a bit of other stuff mixed in as well. As per the norm. And of course Bad-Anon will last more than one chapter.. The 'machine thing' Minty is talking about is something I originally wrote as a joke in "A Sudden Surge". It's a machine that takes your measurements and dresses you.. Mostly as a joke.. And it makes more sense in context.

Please follow/favorite and leave a review, it really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :). There's still a poll on my profile looking for votes too ;).

If you haven't yet, please check out one of my other in-progress stories, 'Reload'.


	28. Chapter 28 - Bad-Anon Starts

As soon as the arcade closed, Ralph carefully stormed into the penthouse for a 5 minute shower. _She's going to be mad, but she'll hopefully understand later.. There's no way I'll make it to the race on time. But I ain't about to embarrass myself at Bad-Anon by smelling like mud and bricks.. Too many other people will be there.. Probably.. Mouthwash.. Bleh.._

"You're in a hurry.." Gene said callously with his arms crossed as Ralph ran through the penthouse.

"No time to talk, sorry!" Ralph yelled, "Felix will fix it!" He left a few broken objects in his wake.

"What a mess.." Gene said disappointedly, "Felix left minutes ago.."

As Ralph ran through the entrance of Sugar Rush 2 he could just barely make out Leon and Garret giving each other a high five in the distance. And it looked like the race hadn't started yet for some reason.

Ralph continued the rest of the way to the stands and sat down. _I wonder what the hold up is.. Doesn't matter, I'm not too late.._

"Alright, ahaha," King Candy said over the speaker, "Since we're all here let the Random Roster Race commence!"

Ralph scratched the side of his neck. _Were they waiting for me to get here?_

* * *

"Well we beat Ralph here," Leon said happily.

"High five," Garret said with a smile. _You gotta forgive him eventually, man._ "Oh, and I won."

"Don't remind me," Leon said disappointedly, "I thought for sure we'd miss the race, I wonder what happened..

It was indeed because they were waiting for Ralph. Vannie had asked King Candy to wait, since Ralph wasn't there yet.

* * *

"Greetings, Master Splinter," Felix said while bowing politely. _It's been too long. I really should make the rounds one of these days.._

"Felix, my friend," Splinter said happily, "It has been far too long."

"Yes it has.. And I wish it were under better circumstances," Felix said sadly, "You see, there's this whole matter with.. how should I put this? Well I'm sure you must know there were people in your game at some point who had no business being here.. Doing things they.. shouldn't be doing.." _Jiminy jaminy.._ _How better can I explain it? That just won't do.._

"Yes. I heard from Shredder long ago," Splinter said, "Took time to repair damage. Luckily we caught it quickly when Litwak was on vacation."

"My lands! Y-So you talk to Shredder now?" Felix asked in confusion. _When did this happen? But that's a good thing.. __Wait, damage?_

"Long story," Splinter said with a laugh, "But tell me, what brings you here? My sons are out at the moment."

"Well, you see.." Felix said nervously, "It's connected to what I said before.. One of the er.. culprits has been found and released due to him cooperating on a matter.. Oh, but he's not dangerous anymore.." _How should I say it?.._

"Ah yes, I've heard a **little** about this," Splinter said.

* * *

After the race.

"You would have missed the race, Ralph," Vannie said as she shook her head then hugged him, "Lucky for you I had it pushed back a few minutes." _Well I can see why now. He's barely dry.._

"Sorry, it's just.. You know, the meeting," Ralph said. _At least I was able to take a breather during the race, nearly thought I'd catch a heart attack. Okay, well that's an exaggeration.._

"Yeah," Vannie said with a sigh, "He's a bit of a wreck right now.." She looked over at him. Crumbelina was patting him on the back.

"Well at least you didn't crash into a wall.." Crumbelina said, "You'll be on the roster tomorrow for sure, okay?" _I knew he was nervous, but he won't be able to give a good 'first' impression like this.. I just hope they haven't already made up their minds about him._

Ralph made his way over to Jet and said, "Listen. Sorry about all this. It's not what I wanted to happen.. But we should get going.." _We don't want to be the last ones there.._

"R-right.." Jet said. _My nerves are shot.. How am I able to stand?_

"We're going with you as far as we can," Taffyta said, "I know they won't let us inside.."

Ralph nodded. _Not really sure what to say to that.._ The group made their way out of Sugar Rush 2 and was stopped by William, the wandering surge protector.

"Name?" William said, already knowing the answer. _I've been waiting.._

"Come on, William, aren't we past this by now?" Ralph protested.

"Not you. Him," William said.

"J-jet Chocolisto," Jet said nervously. _That alarm freaked me out.._

"We're coming from Sugar Rush 2 and we're headed to Pac-Man," Ralph said, knowing those questions were coming."

"Proceed.." William said as he nodded boredly then escorted them to Pac-Man, wading through a large crowd. Nearly a quarter of the arcade was huddled around the gateway. Some out of curiosity, some with a vested interest in how the event played out. The Good Guys from various games were in a section to themselves talking, as were the Bad Guys who weren't allowed in. Only two Bad Guys per game were let inside due to the issue of the room being too small.

"We'll be right out here," Crumbelina said as she hugged Jet one more time before he and Ralph followed William inside. _Like I can leave this spot.._

As Jet entered the ghost pen of Pac-Man with Ralph, he nearly froze up, but somehow found the power to keep moving and sat down in one of the few empty chairs. There were two reserved for them between Satan (Satine, actually) and Zombie.

Looking around, Jet could see Rocksteady and Gary from Ninja Turtles. _No Shredder.._ Jacques and Zorba, two chefs from Food Fight were there as well. _I was Jacques.. _Darth Vader alone came from Star Wars. _I was most afraid of that.._ Dr. Boom came from Agent X, another of the games what were unplugged. _This won't end well.._ The final ones he could recognize from games he had jumped to were two knights in all red armor. They were from Joust. Nobody from Battlezone came. _I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.._ _There are a lot of others, but I'm guessing they're just here to observe.. Seeing them all here like this will give me a heart attack even if they don't do anything.._

Ralph said nothing and sat down next to Zombie. He looked around at all of the new faces._ Sonny and Bobby are here? So they're Bad Guys then? __Wait, __I thought E-Z Livin' didn't have Good Guys or Bad Guys.._

William stood there leaning against the wall behind Jet with his arms crossed. _Well this will be interesting. They wouldn't dare do something while I'm here, would they?_

"Ralph. Jet," Clyde said, "It's good of you to join us. Before we get to.. the other matter.. we'll be going along with the meeting as usual." _The situation might not get as out of hand if they all have a chance to think. The last thing we need is for everyone __t__o let their emotions get the better of them._

Darth Vader breathed heavily and said, "We are not here for your meeting. We should start the trial immediately. **Before** we lose our patience." He continued breathing heavily.

This opinion was in the majority among the new faces, but it died down when Clyde said, "We will **not** have you here in this meeting at all if you refuse to follow our rules." _I knew something like this would happen, I just hope Jet chooses his words wisely here.._

"We've been doing this since 1999," M. Bison said threateningly as he pointed at Darth Vader, "We won't let anything rip our meetings apart so put up or shut up."

"..As you wish.." Darth Vader said, "But we **all** know what the outcome will be. There is no avoiding that." He breathed heavily.

Gary was just sitting there with his arms crossed, between Sorceress from 'Blood and Thunder' and Neff from Altered Beast. Rocksteady was watching Jet intently the entire time, as were others. He sat between Robotnik and M. Bison.

"Now who would like to go first?" Clyde asked.

The meeting trailed off uneventfully as the regulars said what they'd been up to. Jet was silent throughout, listening carefully for anything he should bring up when it was 'his turn'. He grasped the basic format for the meeting. How to start his turn, how to end it. How to respond to someone after their share.. It did nothing to help him calm down, but it was a welcome distraction as he sat there nervously with his arms crossed.

Finally, the meeting was focused on Jet, though some were focused on him the entire time. _I'm __**dead**__.. I've got nothing.._

"Are you **sure** none of you want a turn?" Clyde asked the ones who came due to Jet being there. _This is the last chance.. __William, __Zangief, M. Bison, Ralph.. I hope you're all ready for this.._

* * *

Back in Ninja Turtles, around the time the Bad-Anons were taking turns saying what they'd been up to.

"Phew.. Well we're done," Donatello said as he and the other three ninja turtles returned from parts unknown.

"That is good to hear," Splinter said, "Now. I hope you understand our reasons, Felix. It is for the best."

Felix sighed and said, "It just seems so.. Reckless.." _How do we prepare for the consequences this could have?_

"Don't be ridiculous, friend," Splinter said, "It is something that would happen eventually. There is no reason to put it off until it cannot be put off any longer."

Felix clenched his fists at his sides. _I know he's right.. But that doesn't make this any easier.. __We don't know what the consequences will be.._

"Now go," Splinter said kindly, "Your wife is likely having a time keeping the peace outside.."

Felix sighed and waved goodbye. _Not like they're letting her even do that.._

* * *

"Who is that guy to you?" a Stormtrooper from Star Wars asked Crumbelina angrily, "Don't you know what you're getting into?!"

"U-umm.." Crumbelina said, shrinking back a little. _Who is this guy? __What should I say.. Give me a little room please.. __So many strange people around here and I'm already making enemies.._

Taffyta grabbed Crumbelina by the shoulders and gently moved her out the way and said, "Listen here whitehead, Jet is our friend. Don't go thinking that we'll go easy on you if you start any trouble." _I can't take back anything I just said.. Back me up Rancis.._

"T-that's right," Rancis said nervously, "Jet isn't the person he used to be." _This guy looks tough.._

"B-break it up!" Ashley said as she temporarily put a force field around both parties, "W-we will not tolerate any fighting." _I hope William is having an easier time than I am.._

"Whose side are you on?!" the Stormtrooper asked, "Don't you know what happened to our **game**? To our **games**?! That man is walking free after all that, and for what?! Do you think we enjoy hiding out in other games out of sight from everyone? At least in our games we could be safe.."

"Everyone just stay calm! Everything will be made clear when the meeting has finished." Ashley said as sternly as she could. _I hope.. W__hat did I get myself into by taking this job? Well at least I know I can do this now.. Sorry, don't get mad at me.. __Geez, Alex has it easy on his end.._

"There anything we can help you with?" Calhoun asked sternly as she walked up to them. She had several soldiers with her, excluding Garret and Leon since she couldn't get in contact with them. _Those two.. They must have turned their radios off__.. It should be fine without them. Just hurry up and finish your talk, Felix.. We might need a medic before the day is through._

"Calhoun!" Ashley said excitedly before composing herself, "It's a good thing you're here.. I would appreciate your assistance in keeping the peace around here." _Best timing. Well, she could have gotten here a little earlier.._

"Understood," Calhoun said with a stern smile, "You heard the lady." _We get to do something after all. What distraction would Clyde have expected us to make? This is much more our forte._

* * *

"See, you got second today," Garret said happily, "I knew you could do it."

"Yes, well, I'm sure luck had something to do with it," Jubileena said playfully. _Second is good enough. I'll get you someday Vannie.._

"I was just off my game a little," Minty said disappointedly. _Still can't decide which would win in a fight between a dinosaur and a whale.. I guess it depends on if they're on land or in water.. Oh! Maybe whales are just underwater dinosaurs that didn't go extinct.. Yeah, that's got to be it.. __Dinosaur would win either way._

"Well there's nothing wrong with sixth, is there?" Leon asked, "I'm not too familiar with the game, but you still got on the roster, right? Isn't that great?"

Minty sighed and said, "I guess. I'm just so used to getting at least fifth." _I'm happy for Jujube though. She did good._

"That's only one placing difference though," Leon said trying to look on the bright side. He pushed the sides of his mouth up with his fingers to make a smile, which made Minty laugh a little. "Come on, we were going to get us out of this armor, right?" _Take her mind off of it.. She's taking it pretty hard just going down to sixth.._

"Oh, that's right!" Minty said excitedly, "Let's go!" She giggled. _Just wait until they get a load of that machine.. I wonder how Leon will react? Such an odd way to take measurements._

"So what sort of place are we going to exactly?" Garret asked, "This will be completely new to us.." _Can't remember anything about a store from my backstory. At least I know what one is.. That'd be embarrassing if I didn't. I wonder how it's decided what we know and don't know about the world when __we're programmed.. __No point in thinking about it._

"Just a clothes shop, that's all," Jubileena said shaking her head and laughed, "I can't believe you guys have never been to a store before.." _I guess it's not something soldiers would get to do very often.. Especially not if they're out on some weird planet with robot bugs eating everything.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so this is the first chapter that includes the much-awaited Bad-Anon meeting. And well, there's also a little more talk. I wish I could have included more Bad-Anon stuff like what the Bad Guys have been doing and the like, but I'll save that for 'Zombie Candy' when I get around to updating that again. It will happen, I promise.

Next chapter will be good, things I've been ruminating upon will finally start happening. Gary is in Bad-Anon instead of Bebop for a reason, just putting that out now.

'Sorceress' is the only female member of Bad-Anon. Many consider her to be Mishaela from Shining Force, but there's too much different about her. So instead I've based her off of someone on tumblr who roleplays as her (Quite well in fact. Check her out under the name ask-the-sorceress). 'Blood and Thunder' is the game she made up for her character.

The Bad-Anons are mostly sitting in their same seats as they were in the movie, just to give a better visual of where some of the others are sitting.

Please follow/favorite and leave a review, it really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :).


	29. Chapter 29

For about fifteen seconds there was a suffocating silence in the room. It was as if not a single one of them were breathing. And then finally the silence was broken when one of the Bad Guys from Food Fight raised their hand. Gary's arms shifted, though they stayed crossed.

"My name is.. Zorba.." the small chef said timidly. "..I used to be a Bad Guy.." He clenched his fists for a moment, the hurt welling up inside of him.

Jet flinched. _Hi Zorba. I__'m sorry.._

"Hi Zorba.." the regulars and Jacques said.

"We.. We were among the first games in the arcade.." Zorba continued, "Fix-It Felix Jr., Centipede, Asteroids," Bobby and Sonny gave each other looks before moving their attention to Jet and then back to the chef who was fighting back tears, "this very game.. and of course Turbo Time, were all among us back then.." He wiped his eyes. "Things were.. different back then. We used to mean something. Now we're just assistants at Burger Time.. Don't. Don't get me wrong, it's a living.. But nothing could beat the hustle and bustle of a five star restaurant.. Something that this arcade no longer has.." He took a deep breath. "And yet I'm conflicted.. It's distressing that I feel this way, but I'm also thankful, to some small extent.. We are no longer officially Bad Guys.. Most of the faces in the arcade nowadays have never even heard of our game.. They treat us like people.. Something the arcade was so desperately missing back when our game was still around.." The regulars all nodded and Sorceress placed a hand on his shoulder which made him shudder slightly. "We still miss our homes.. We still miss Oscar.. He stayed behind when our game was unplugged.." He sniffed, wiping away a steady stream of tears. "He said it was the only place he would.. would ever belong.. I'm sorry.. That's all I wanted to say.."

"We're sorry for your loss, Zorba" Clyde said kindly, "It was a nice share.."

Zorba blew his nose into a handkerchief stored away in one of his pockets and said, "Thank you.. It's been hard keeping it bottled up all these years.." He looked over to Jet, not expecting to see him crying as well.

"I'm so sorry.." Jet said as sincerely as he could, "I never meant for it to end the way it did." _Oscar died.. I never knew.._ "Nothing I say can ever bring Oscar back. Or Food Fight.."

"I don't want to hear it!" Jacques yelled standing up from his seat, fists clenched, "Oh you're **so** sorry, aren't you?! And yet after that, what do you think happened? You did the **same thing**! Again! And Again! How **many** games now?!" Tears streamed down his face. He sat back down, still furious, with a heavy sigh.

"Take deep breathes everyone," Clyde said. _What is it that you're thinking, Ralph?_

Ralph slid his hand down his face. _It's not looking good, Jet.. Why don't you tell your story and get it over with? You might at least be hated less.._

Dr. Boom raised his hand hesitantly, as if prompted to go in chronological order, being the game that replaced Food Fight in the arcade all those years ago. "I am Dr. Boom," he said sadly, "I too, used to be a Bad Guy.."

"Hi Dr. Boom.." Jet timidly said with the rest of the room. _How badly did I ruin __**your**__ life?_

"First I would like to say.. I rather enjoy my new life in E-Z Livin'.." Dr. Boom said, "Technically that makes us three in here from E-Z Livin', I hope you don't mind, Clyde.. I should have said so sooner, but I didn't want Bobby or Sonny to be turned away, they're the ones I have to thank for still being here.."

"Don't worry about it, Dr. Boom," Clyde said, "Please, continue."

"Alright.. Well, as for my story?" Dr. Boom said, "It's not as emotional as Zorba's, but it still bears telling.. You see, it was a simple life really. I steal plans from Agent X and run away, scattering them across my underground base.. Then Agent X comes along to collect the plans and destroy the base.. For the short while we had before being hijacked, we despised each other. I would never bother leaving the game after my first experience in Game Central Station. And really I only had a few henchmen.. They're still waiting outside, I would imagine. Great guys.. They look a bit different so that they can fit in better though.. It's thanks to Bobby and Sonny really."

Bobby and Sonny nodded.

"When **those two** came along.." Dr. Boom said, "I'm not sure which one controlled me.."

"It.. It was Set.." Jet said nervously. _He's so different from what I imagined.._

"Okay, well when **Set** controlled me.." Dr. Boom said, "Something just.. fell into place.. When **you** took control of Agent X.. It was so strange. It wasn't really me, and it wasn't really him, but 'I' was getting along with somebody.. A Good Guy.. And then years later, Set.. He got **bored**. Bored of the game.. So do you know what he did? Tell me Jet. Tell me what he did."

"I.. I'm sorry, I don't know.." Jet said while looking at the floor. _What did he do? Should I remember this?_

Dr. Boom sighed and said, "No.. I don't guess you would.. You weren't there when he did it.. But I still hold **you** responsible, since the other is dead. He deleted files.. Necessary ones. There were entire floors of the base missing. The floors that **were** still there had more mines placed around them making it nearly impossible to get through.. It's a miracle that me, Agent X, and my henchmen were able to escape in time.."

"He.. Set did that?!" Jet asked, almost in shock, finally looking up to face him. _Set.. That bastard.._

"Yes. He did," Dr. Boom said, "My life may have improved drastically since then, I'm even best friends with Agent X now, but that is only a small consolation in all this. You and your brother still screwed us over pretty big, you know that? I want my game back. I want those years of my life back that were wasted. Years being controlled by such a.. Urgh.. Such a.." He gritted his teeth and sighed. "No.. I'm done. Go on to the **next** person.."

* * *

"It's about time you got here," Calhoun said, "We've got a job to do." _Really, how long did you have to talk for?_

Felix sighed and said, "I'm sorry. You have to be patient with guys like Splinter. He can talk for hours if you let him.." _And I ended up letting him.._

Calhoun blew her hair out of the way of her eyes and said, "So you let him talk for hours.."

"It's not something I can help," Felix said, "It's just part of who I am. But I did learn something new while talking to him.." _I thought it would have happened already.._

"That's good. Tell me," Calhoun said seriously. _Is it not important enough to just come out and say it?_

"You'll find out yourself in a few minutes I'd imagine.." Felix said shaking his head, which made her raise an eyebrow.

A few minutes passed and suddenly the alert system that was playing an advisory from Sonic about not dying outside your game flickered.

"My name is.. Zorba.." suddenly echoed throughout the room. He could be seen on the screens littering both Game Station East and West. "..I used to be a Bad Guy.."

"Oh, now I see.." Calhoun said coldly as she ran her armored fingers through her hair.

"This is Donatello's handiwork.." Felix said with a sigh, "Splinter thinks it's for the best, but I'm not so sure.."

The crowd around Pac-Man somewhat dispersed as some gathered around in smaller groups near the screens instead. There were suddenly hundreds of conversations going on at once as they listened to the small chef tell his story.

"Look, there's Jet and Ralph!" Taffyta happily pointed out to Crumbelina, "He's still fine.." _He's fine.._ Crumbelina hugged her tightly and they sat down near the screen so they could see better. They sat there listening for a while.

"We still miss our homes.." echoed across the arcade, "We still miss Oscar.. He stayed behind when our game was unplugged.." The arcade went silent except for the screens. More than a few were crying out of sympathy for him, despite the fact that he used to be a Bad Guy.

"Jet.." Rancis said sadly as he saw the look on his face.

"What the?" Vanellope asked in confusion as she found Vannie sitting on the floor watching a screen near the entrance to Pac-Man, she'd been sitting a few feet away from Crumbelina, Taffyta, and Rancis, "What is this?" _It's Ralph! Is this what's happening in Bad-Anon?_

"We can at least watch.." Vannie said distantly. _That poor guy.._

Vanellope sat in Vannie's lap and asked, "So this is the kind of thing Ralph does every week?" _I wonder what kind of stories he tells.. Are they happy ones? Sad ones?_ "Did they show Ralph saying anything?"

"No.." Vannie said sadly while shaking her head, "It only just started with this guy." She hugged Vanellope. _I wonder if he had his turn already.._

"Hey baby girl," Taffyta said somberly as she noticed Vanellope and scooted closer to them, Rancis and Crumbelina doing the same. _It's nice to see little Vanellope again. I wish it were a better time.._

"Hey Taffyta," Vanellope said giving her a hug, "You doing okay?" _She's barely holding together.._

Taffyta hugged her back tightly and said, "One of our friends is in there with Ralph, we're not sure how it will go.." _Thanks Vanellope, I needed this.._ Her makeup was running slightly.

"You're friends with Jet then?" Vanellope asked worriedly. _So that's why she's like this.._

"Yeah.." Taffyta said with a sigh, "Crumbelina is his girlfriend, I don't know if you heard.." _She needs a hug more than I do.._

"Yeah, I heard something about that," Vanellope said sadly, "You're next, Crumbelina.. I know we haven't had a chance to really talk or anything.." She hugged Crumbelina tightly. "But I'm here for you.." _I couldn't even imagine how I'd feel if it was Ralph in Jet's position.._

"Thanks, Vanellope.." Crumbelina said, not letting go of Vanellope. _At least they haven't done anything to Jet so far.._

* * *

"Well here we are!" Jubileena said happily, "Taffyta's mom runs this place."

"So I guess that explains why it's called Taffy's," Garret said, looking up at the big, pink letters on the front of the clothes shop.

"Yep! That's her mom's name," Minty said happily. _I wonder if she misses me.. She makes __**really**__ good taffy too.. I want some.. It's been so long, mmm.. No no no. _She shook her head._ I can't go see her just because I want taffy.._

Leon chuckled and asked, "You alright there, Minty?" _I wonder what she's thinking up this time._

"Haha, yeah I'm fine," Minty said, "Let's go in already!" _What would he look good in? Hmm.._

"You're probably not going to find anything in your size," Jubileena said, "but just look around until you find something you like and we'll sort it out after."

"Oh, okay.." Garret said as he started looking around, "There's uh.. Lots of girl clothes here, I guess that's to be expected though." Jubileena and Minty laughed.

"Yeah, there are a lot more girl racers after all," Jubileena said jokingly, "There's a section for guys over here." She led them to another, smaller section.

"This here is Rancis' outfit," Minty said, "Not so sure about how it looks though." _Well it looks good on him, but probably not for Leon._

"How about this?" Leon asked holding a plain white shirt, "Maybe with a jacket or something." _Just a white shirt alone would probably be no good.. Maybe without sleeves would be better?_

"Hmm.. Depends on the jacket, there's a few to choose from here," Minty said, "Let's see.. Oh how about this one?" She held up a black leather jacket with a flaming skull on the back. _I didn't even know we had stuff like this! I wouldn't mind having a jacket like this too.. Maybe in green.. Or maybe in pink but with green flames?_

"Ooh, now that looks good," Leon said, "I think this would go with the jacket better though." He had since found a white tank top and held it up.

"Still haven't found anything, Garret?" Jubileena asked. _Is he the really picky type?_

"I'm thinking.." Garret said, "Any suggestions?" _Give me a break, I've never done this before. This will affect how people look at me, right?_ _Never had to worry about that before.._

"Okay.. Well how about.. Hmm.." Jubileena said. _This is harder than I thought.. What would look good on him?_

"Well I think jeans should be good, right?" Garret said, "What goes with jeans? Not so sure I need a jacket."

"Everything goes with jeans," Jubileena said jokingly, "They're like the white bread of pants. Why not just look for a shirt in your favorite color? It doesn't have to have any fancy design on it."

"Jeans, good idea," Leon said to himself, "Okay shoes.." _I'll win this race Garret._

"Wait for me Leon!" Minty said excitedly as he ran off to find shoes.

"That's an interesting design," Jubileena said as she looked at Garret's armor, "On your left shoulder." _Who is this red haired devil woman, I wonder?_

"Oh, this?" Garret asked, "I hardly even notice it anymore. Besides, I've got a better redhead now, don't I?" _I wonder if that sounded as good as it did in my head.._

Jubileena shook her head laughing and said, "Such a charmer.. You sure you don't want to put that on a jacket? We can do that, you know? As long as we have a reference."

"..Would you like how that looks?" Garret asked.

"Why not? It would look cool I think," Jubileena said.

"Alright, then we'll go with that and.." Garret said, "Well I don't want it to be a plain white shirt like Leon's.." _He's probably completing his look by now. Tch.._

"Well if you don't want to go with white, why not black?" Jubileena asked, "Seems good, here take it. Now let's go get shoes, you do at least have socks in your game, right?" _We should catch up with those two.. The last thing we need is them nagging us to hurry up._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Feels weird having this extremely serious story, then following it up with happy-time clothes shopping, haha.

If you're wondering about the red haired devil woman on Garret's armor.. If you watch the movie at the segment where Calhoun is giving her soldiers a pep talk (when Ralph is posing as Markowski), you can see at the very beginning of her speech a soldier's left shoulder with the design Jubileena refers to.

Please follow/favorite and leave a review, it really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :).


	30. Chapter 30

Darth Vader breathed heavily and said, "It would seem as though it has come to my turn." He glared at Jet. Or at least it appeared as such to everyone in the room. "I am Darth Vader, and I used to be a Bad Guy.. Twice.."

"Hi Darth Vader."

"Oh spare me.. There were two instances of Star Wars that graced this arcade. The first lasted but a few years before being destroyed due to **you** and your brother's interference." He stood up and raised his arm in front of him.

"Hey!" Ralph screamed as he stood up. _You wouldn't.._ Zangief, M. Bison and Sorceress readied themselves as well. Everyone else in the room began to panic.

Jet was suddenly lifted up by his neck by some invisible force. He struggled, the life being slowly choked out of him. He grasped at his neck trying to release himself to no effect. He suddenly fell roughly back onto his chair, hurting his back, when William put a force field around Darth Vader. Jet coughed, painfully gasping for air now that he had regained the ability to do so.

"Easy there chief," William said sternly, "You're coming with me."

"Wait," Jet coughed, "Let him talk if he still wants to." _I thought I was going to die.. __I still might.._

"When the first Star Wars cabinet was replaced.." Darth Vader said while crossing his arms, "We naturally came out of hiding to join them. The Stormtroopers that were with me died **permanently** after just one game. I on the other hand had somehow ended up fusing with the Darth Vader of that cabinet in some cruel twist of fate.. He's still here." He tapped his helmet. "And he's quite pissed off as well.. There is no fairy tale ending for us where we found a place to belong.." He clenched his fists. "Was once not enough for you?! If you two were so bored of playing our game, why did you have to come back to destroy it **again**?!"

"W-we didn't even **go** into the second one!" Jet said hoarsely, his throat still aching, "We went to Battlezone!"

"You're so full of it!" Darth Vader yelled, breathing even more heavily, "Then what happened to the second one? It just suddenly stopped working on its own?!"

"One moment, if I may," Sonny said calmly, raising his hand.

"What do you want lawyer in training?" Darth Vader asked angrily.

"It **does** happen," Sonny said, "It happened to the game I was originally from, after all. Maybe some of you have heard of it? The name's Centipede." He voluntarily glitched into his original form as proof. He was a string of seven green hand-sized spheres. He glitched back into his human form. "I've kept it hidden for quite some time.. I've only ever told five people about this personally until now. My game's screen simply went out one day, two years after being plugged in. Mr. Litwak figured it wasn't making enough money to justify having it fixed. It just wasn't feasible."

"Yeah, dude. And wasn't it like pretty big news that the motherboard for Star Wars nearly caught fire?" Bobby said, "How would manipulating game files cause something like that? I say the twins are innocent on that one, man." _You should count yourselves lucky you even got out of the game at all.._

"What are you two even doing here?" Darth Vader asked, having calmed down the smallest amount, "Are you even Bad Guys?"

"We made ourselves Bad Guys just to come to this meeting, bro!" Bobby said with a smile, "We mod our game all the time, man. Oh, but don't worry. We can only do that to our own game. And you're free to come join E-Z Livin' any time you want, we'll find a place for you faster than you can say Asteroids."

"Get me out of here before I kill these fools," Darth Vader said storming out of the room. William escorted him to the surge protector's office located within Game Station East and placed him in a holding cell.

"Heck of a temper, hot shot," William said condescendingly, "Honestly I don't know what to do with you. Just sit there and cool your head for now." He turned on a built-in force field to keep him inside. "I wouldn't recommend touching it, you'll get burned."

"Ironic that I should be held by a force field," Darth Vader quipped bitterly and sat down.

William zipped back to Pac-Man.

"What's with this broadcast?" Darth Vader asked himself in an annoyed tone while looking at a screen that was even present in the holding cell, "Was this not meant to be a private affair?"

* * *

"Jet!" Crumbelina screamed. She unknowingly hugged Vanellope tighter, watching helplessly as Darth Vader force-choked him for the briefest of moments.

Vanellope squirmed. _Tight.. _"Look, Crumbelina, he's still alive.. He'll be okay.." _Ralph, you need to stop going to these meetings if that's the kind of people they invite._

The arcade was on fire with conversation. A very small minority cheered, most were just scared out of their minds that someone nearly died so easily.

"Was a madman like that hiding in a game all this time?"

"Which game was he hiding in?"

"Well don't look at me, it wasn't ours."

"Who just cheered?! A man almost died!"

"Yeah? Well he deserves it!"

Comments like these were thrown around all over the place, with Calhoun and the soldiers breaking up their fair share of fights, with Felix healing the resultant injuries. After a while it died down for the most part when the next Bad Guy took his turn.

* * *

"I guess we're next," one of the knights from Joust said, "My name is Bill, and I'm still a Bad Guy.. "

"Hi Bill."

"My friend Ted here and I weren't actually taken control of like the others, we're just here on their behalf.. We don't really have much to say other than saying it sucked pretty hard for Preston and Logan being controlled all those years.. We just really want to get this over with, Right, Ted?"

"That's right, Bill," Ted said, "Let's just quickly pass a judgment and get this over with."

"Cool your jets," M. Bison said, "I'm getting tired of hearing this and that about passing judgments. Say your piece then give it a rest because that's not what these meetings are about. If you don't like it, **leave**."

Rocksteady coughed to get everyone's attention, "Shall I take my turn now?"

"Please, go ahead Rocksteady," Clyde said. _This meeting is falling apart.. __It was a good call bringing William in here.._

William had returned and once again stood behind Jet. _I wonder if I should tell them the meeting is being broadcasted.. __No, __t__he damage is done. __E__veryone might as well see it through to its conclusion. But ju__dging from the perspective.. __I'd say it's from a__round the masked Ninja Turtles guy.. __He must have some kind of camera behind that mask __of his__.._

"Let me just say, I don't really care one way or the other what happens to him," Rocksteady said, "I'm a grown man, I've gotten over it ages ago. If anything, aside from being stripped of our freedom for a few years, our lives have improved, just like a couple others here. What many people in this arcade fail to realize is that what goes on during the arcade's open hours should stay there. We are all people, regardless of our job description. It took Set and Jet hijacking Bebop and I for the turtles and Splinter to realize that. But it was really because of Jet that we got to that point. He would always talk to the turtles whether they liked it or not, his brother reluctantly joining in. It's Set that was the one who tried to destroy our game. Like Dr. Boom's case, our game was nearly put out of commission. Levels missing and the like. But Jet wasn't even there when it happened. Jet was busy talking to the turtles and Splinter over pizza before he left.." _You're lucky kid.. If it weren't for Splinter I would still feel like killing you myself. It's only because he talked it over with me that I have since decided otherwise. But your__ turn better be next, I'm tired of waiting __to hear what you have to say._

Rocksteady sighed and continued, "We were among the lucky games. Litwak was on a vacation when Set left that little parting gift.. It took three days for Splinter to fix the damage. Luckily Bebop remembered how the damage was done in the first place, or else we would have been unplugged as well.. I think it's about time you had **your** turn, Jet. This is what **I** have been waiting for all this time." _Crybaby. Weakling. Dirtbag.._

Jet sighed and scratched his head. His nerves had since calmed down enough to think, though it was rough recovering from nearly being strangled to death. "My name is Jet, and I guess you could say I'm a Bad Guy.. One of the worst, in fact.. I've told this story no less than three or four times since my brother killed himself just a few days ago.. It was that same day when I was given this new look, this new life.." He sighed. "I fully understand that many of you are pissed off. And rightfully so.. Why should I have this new life after all I've done? What right do I have to be happy after all of the suffering I've caused?"

He told that same story he'd grown accustomed to telling by now.

"But I'm a changed man now.." Jet said, "Of course I don't deserve this new life after what I've done, but I'll defend it if I have to. I've met the most loving people in this arcade since becoming Jet Chocolisto and I'll do anything it takes to keep that.." _I know it's not fair.. Just.. Please.._

"Tch.. So what the hell do you expect to us to do then, hypocrite?" Jacques asked, "You and your brother selfishly game jumped, hijacked us, and whether indirectly or not you caused the unplugging of four games. Do you really **not** know why nobody from Battlezone is here? Did you not even think that **maybe** they couldn't leave their game before it was too late? If I had to guess, that's **exactly** what happened to them. So again I'll ask you, what the hell should we do about all this?"

Jet sighed and ran his hands through his hair then said, "I don't know.. The thought did cross my mind that something was wrong that nobody from Battlezone came.. I honestly don't know what kind of damage Set caused there. As for what I can do.. All I can figure is that I can try talking King Candy into accepting anyone who wants in.. But I can't make any kind of promises. I don't know how many, if any, he would be willing to accept. But Sugar Rush 2 is an amazing game, I'm sure there is plenty of room for all of you.. You wouldn't have to worry so much about dying anymore, since he has the power to make you legitimate characters there. He could possibly even let _you_ guys reopen your five star restaurant in town, well I don't know what he could do for the Star Wars guys, though.."

"Tch.. Pretty words," Jacques said. _Why can't you just let me hate __**every**__ fiber of your being? __Even if we do end up there, I'll have nothing to do with you. Don't even talk to me __again._

"You.. You shouldn't say something like that if you can't follow through with it.." Zorba said timidly, "And it.. It still wouldn't bring Oscar back.." _I still don't want anything to do with you.. But if it means owning our own restaurant again.._

"Well, if it's about the dudes from Star Wars.." Bobby said, "We've already got a hidden area in E-Z Livin' that's in space, man. I go there all the time since my own game busted. Since Sonny revealed who he is I might as well do the same, just don't ask for any autographs, it really bums me out. I'm the ship from Asteroids, believe it or not. This place is a little too small to show off though. It wouldn't take anything to make a replica of the Death Star. A better one even. The 'like it' guys would be so jealous." _The Agent X guys are already with us, so they're kind of sorted. I don't know what else they could want._

* * *

After a short while, and much complaining about the machine doing the measuring, Garret and Leon finally had their new outfits.

"So how do we pay for these, exactly?" Garret asked, "Or do we just walk out with them like it's nothing?"

"We swipe a card," Jubileena said, "It's just a formality though."

"So what's the difference if we don't have a card then?" Leon asked, "Like what if someone from another game wants to come get clothes, like we're doing.." _We certainly weren't given one.._

"They'll offer you one at the register," Minty said happily, "They'll be **really** agressive about it too!" _I think I'll just come back later for a different outfit if I feel like it. We need to hurry and get them back to their game so they can stash that stupid armor away. I wanna see the finished product again._

They 'paid' and went to Hero's Duty to change into their new outfits.

"Yes!" Minty said excitedly, putting her thumbs in the air, "It looks great! Both of you!"

"I agree, It's a vast improvement over what you'd been wearing," Jubileena said teasingly.

"I feel light," Leon said looking at his bare arms, "So weird.." _Is this what 'normal' feels like?_

"We'll have to have Sarge make this part of our characters though," Garret said, "It would be a shame if it got deleted when we get played next."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay so most of you figured out already that Bad-Anon wouldn't be the end of the world. Yeah, it's not. But don't think it's all over yet. And yes, Gary is the source of the broadcasting, William deduced correctly.

I'd have liked to include more of the other characters, but they're not really doing anything other than watching what's going on in Bad-Anon so I don't see how I could write anything for them. I hope that's not too upsetting.


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note:** Alright, this first bit is just something I thought of when talking with Nagasha over pm. I was stuck deciding between if I should have Luke be alive or dead and well.. I'm taking the middle road and they just thought each other were dead. Technically Obi-Wan is supposed to be dead but he's a voice in the game so.. I'm making him a ghost? Haha..

* * *

Inside DDR.

"Luke!" Obi-Wan screamed as he came running from the entrance, "Where's Luke?!" He was a ghost, though he was just like any other game character except he was semi-transparent and had a dim blue glow about him.

"I-I'm sorry, I haven't seen him since a little while ago," Emi said nervously, "Is there something wrong?" _I haven't seen him this __antsy __since he and Luke first started living here.. What happened?_ She had short blue hair, accented with a white headband that had a pink flower on it. She wore a short white and pink dress.

"He's alive!" Obi-Wan screamed silently as he grabbed her by the shoulders and gently shook her. He ran off screaming Luke's name.

"What's all the ruckus about, Ben?" Luke asked as Obi-Wan finally located him. _He looks like he's seen a ghost.. Besides himself anyways._

"He's alive!" Obi-Wan screamed silently again, "Your father is alive! I just saw him on the alert system!" _I really should have come sooner. __I'll leave out what he was doing for now.. At least the guy didn't game over, even if he was the cause for this mess.. __Agh, but I also feel I should have stayed for his story.._

"He.. He is?" Luke asked in hopeful shock. _Where has he been all these years?! Did the others make it too? _"W-well let's go! What are we waiting for?"

"He's in Pac-Man. Come, we must hurry!" Obi-Wan said happily.

* * *

"I knew this would be difficult.." Crumbelina said sadly, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I never really imagined it from their point of view though.." _Jet, you really got yourself into a mess with this.. Please come out of this __alright__.._

"It'll be okay," Vannie insisted. _Dad had better go along with what Jet suggests.. Those poor chefs.. At least we won't have to worry about taking in that Vader guy.. I wonder what will happen to him.._

"Y-yeah," Taffyta said, "The worst is probably over. They're just working out details now, right?" _I can't believe that guy would try to kill Jet in front of so many people.. Ralph was at least going to try to __stop him__, even if that blue guy did beat him to it.._

"Where is he?!" Luke asked as he and Obi-Wan ran to Ashley who was standing in front of the gateway to Pac-Man.

"W-where's who?" Ashley asked,"Slow down a bit. Take deep breaths."

Luke shook his head no and asked, "Is Darth Vader still in Pac-Man?"

"No, he was escorted out just a moment ago," Ashley said nervously. _Why does he want to know where he is?_

"Can you take me to him?" Luke asked, "He's my father." _As crazy as it sounds._

* * *

Earlier, in Hero's Duty.

"Well the outfits are a little similar," Garret said, "But they're different enough I guess. You should have used your tattoo for the graphic on the back though. Check this out." He turned to show off the redhead on the back of his jacket. "Just like on my armor." He smiled, feeling as though he one-upped Leon.

"Yeah, I don't know," Leon said, "Maybe some other time." _If only I knew.. I wish I had thought of that.._

"I wonder where Sarge is," Garret said, "I bet she'd get a kick out of this." _Maybe we should ask her over the radio.._ _Oh wait, Jubileena probably wouldn't appreciate that.. Four people is already pushing it for her.._

"I don't mind," Jubileena said knowingly with a smile. _He knows how I feel about it so we'll probably just go show it off then make some excuse to leave._

"We should eat first!" Minty said excitedly while doing a fist pump, "Aren't you guys hungry?" _Seriously, why do I have to even bring it up? I could eat a whole unicandycorn. I wonder if there's any food places here.._

"Now that you mention it, yeah," Leon said while scratching his chin in thought. _I didn't want to say anything before.._

"Are there any restaurants here?" Minty asked, "We haven't really been anywhere in this game except that area with all the eggs." She scrunched up her nose. _Those eggs just look so cute until they hatch.. Bleh._

"Well there is, actually," Garret said, "We haven't really gone there before personally, but Sarge says it's 'an okay place' so it must be good.. She has a hard time giving anything a straight compliment." _She won't even compliment Felix outright if she thinks we're paying attention. Talk about hard-boiled._

"Let's go!" Minty said excitedly, "I hope it's not quite as gloomy as here though." She playfully stuck her tongue out at Leon.

"It's normal! Promise," Leon said happily, "It's technically supposed to be back on Earth but it was just meant to be a place for flashbacks and the like so it's just out in the distance past the tower." _No idea why it actually exists since it's just for flashbacks. Pretty cool though. __Haven't even been out that way since I fixed Loya and Garret's codes.._

"So how do we get there then?" Jubileena asked.

"We take a shuttle to get there," Garret said with a smile, "It's this way." He began walking down a hallway on the side of the Armory and turned around to wait for them. _I'm really liking this outfit. I feel like I could do flips I'm so light._

At the end of the hall was a docking bay with a shuttle waiting. They boarded it and Garret piloted it into town, landing it on the roof of a military base.

"It is not often we receive guests," General Lockload said invitingly, "Who are these two lovely ladies?"

Jubileena looked at Garret, meanwhile Minty looked at Leon, both all smiles.

"This is Minty."/"This is Jubileena." Leon and Garret said simultaneously, politely gesturing toward them. They looked at each other in mild annoyance.

General Lockload shook his head downward trying to shake off the laugh he felt coming on. "You first, Spears."

"Yes sir," Garret said, "This is Jubileena. She's from Sugar Rush 2, the latest game in the arcade. She's my," he scratched the back of his neck, "girlfriend." He beamed.

"I see," General Lockload said, "Now you, Markowski."

"This is my girlfriend Minty," Leon beamed, "She's also from Sugar Rush 2."

"Very good to meet the two of you," General Lockload said, "I am General Lockload. You may recognize me as the general giving the player a medal upon reaching the top of the tower. Of course that is just a holographic video recording." _Not really much to do around here except live. Perhaps I shall take a moment to explore this arcade soon. It would be an interesting experience getting away from all this for a while._

"We've not really been there, sorry," Minty said sheepishly, "Too many bugs." _Way too dangerous.. Hmm, I wonder what would happen if they drank something. Would they turn into part liquid?_

"Yes, that would prove to be quite problematic," General Lockload said disappointedly. _Does anyone in this arcade even know who I am? Aside from Sergeant Calhoun's wedding I've not seen many people from outside of Hero's Duty.. That settles it._ "I apologize, but I've just remembered something so I'll see you off here. It was a pleasure meeting the two of you." He smiled and moved to enter another shuttle and left.

"Well he was nice," Jubileena said, "I expected him to be super strict and formal since he's a general.."

"He's a great guy," Garret said, "He can be a bit strict at times if you do something truly stupid though. But that's rare."

They took the elevator down through the military base and grabbed a camouflage painted vehicle to get to the restaurant.

"See that tall building over there?" Leon asked, "Sarge used to live in the penthouse there. She's taken to living with Felix since then though." _I'm still feeling it from when she smacked me upside the head for asking about it._

"Wow, how tall is it?" Minty asked. _I don't think I've seen anything that tall before. Well, Diet Cola Mountain comes close._

"99 floors," Leon said happily.

"So where do you guys live then?" Jubileena asked.

"We do have places in town," Garret said, "but I haven't visited it even once since getting plugged in. I never really liked the place since my parents divorced. Neither one of them wanted it so they just gave it to me."

"That's so sad.." Jubileena said. _I hope I didn't drag out anything too unpleasant.._

"Nah, it's fine.." Garret said, "They're both fine and all. They just grew apart over the years and decided to call it quits. It's one of the reasons I decided to join the military in the first place."

"Oh.." Jubileena said. _It's okay. I won't bring it up again.._

"Here we are," Leon said as Garret parked.

Garret sighed and said, "That's my line."

They looked up at the name 'Tony's' written in big cursive letters on sign out front.

"Tony's?" Jubileena asked. _I wonder what kind of food they have here.._

"It's an Italian restaurant," Garret said, "I hope you don't mind. There's always Andre's.. It's French, I think."

"Well we're already here, and we're used to eating Italian stuff anyways," Minty said happily, "Crumbelina's mom is a great cook. She owns the place the four of us went to the other day." _Although she's not been there for quite a long time now.. I hope she's doing okay._

"Oh right," Leon said while nodding casually, "That was good. Especially the dessert."

* * *

"I still cannot believe this," Zangief said, "How is it that every game Jet has been in has sent Bad Guy representatives. It is too convenient to be coincidence." _How did they know he would be here?_

Jet sat silently, only wanting to talk if spoken to directly. _I don't know how I should approach the others.. It seems like everyone should be 'happy' now.. What could I possibly do for them? Should I just ask? Should I wait until they ask me for something?_

Gary slowly raised his hand and said, "I may have let it slip."

"Why?" Sorceress asked, "What do you gain from all this, I wonder?"

"Zombie not think it matters," Zombie said, "It have good outcome so far, except Darth Vader's outburst. Answer good to know though."

"Oh, I don't know," Gary said, "When I heard about Jet from some soldier in Tapper's I decided to spy on him for a while. After I learned his story and that he would probably come to Bad-Anon, I talked it over with Splinter and I was tasked with spreading a rumor he would be here. So here we are."

"To what end?" Ralph asked. _I'm still mad that I didn't notice him spying on us. Am I that stupid?_

"Truth be told we're tired of being avoided," Gary said, "We don't normally even bother leaving our game unless it's necessary. Similarly it's why nobody ever bothers coming to our game except for when Felix decides to visit."

"What's that got to do with any of this?" Ralph asked. _Is there some connection here I'm missing?_

"This whole thing has been broadcasted outside since Zorba started his speech," Gary said while uncrossing his arms to reveal a small switch in his right hand, "Hidden camera behind my mask." He tapped his right eye. "Whether this ends up working or not, we don't know. But we're tired of sitting back and doing nothing while Bad Guys are avoided like the plague."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Leon's group was falling behind a bit. In case you were wondering why they didn't notice the Bad-Anon meeting being broadcasted, it wasn't on yet. So I decided to expand on the world of Hero's Duty some.


	32. Chapter 32 - Bad-Anon Ends

**Author's Note:** The underlined text is the other personality inside his head. He fused with the Darth Vader from the second game cabinet, but their psyches are still separate, in case you missed it previously. This is the sort of thing that Jet, Set, and Turbo experienced while controlling the characters they did. Likewise the same went for any other character inside Star Wars who had an actual name (too bad for the stormtroopers, they were the exception).

So they're a bit nuts in the sense that they're hearing voices that are technically not theirs. But at the same time it's only because there are two characters in the same body, though only one is in control. This is what it would have been like for Vanellope/Vannie eventually in 'A Sudden Surge' if they hadn't been separated back into two people.

* * *

As Darth Vader intently watched the rest of the Bad-Anon meeting through the screen in his holding cell he asked himself aloud, "What would Luke have done if he were alive right now?" _As much as I hate to admit it, he would probably forgive him._ "That may be so.. But I just can't. Not after all this time.. We've lost too much to turn back now, haven't we?" _We should have waited until he was unguarded._ "You know that would be impossible. We may have messed up our chance, but at least the others will have a place to go." _That is the only silver lining._

"He's.. right this way.." Ashley said as she started escorting Luke and Obi-Wan to the holding cell Darth Vader was located in, "We're not quite sure what to do with him yet.." _It should be fine if I'm away for just a few minutes.._

"What do you mean?" Luke asked. _Something is up._ "No kidding."

"H-he tried to kill someone a while ago," Ashley said nervously, "Why would I kid about something like that?"

_Stop answering me around people. You should know better by now._ Luke shook his head slightly and asked, "He tried to kill someone?! Why? What did they do to him?" _This doesn't add up. This doesn't add up. Why do I bother thinking for myself anymore if I'm- I wonder who could provoke dad into doing that.._

"Luke.. It was one of _them_," Obi-Wan said, "One of the ones responsible for Star Wars getting unplugged." _To think that they were at it for that long.._

"Well I guess that makes sense," Luke said disappointedly, "But still, to try and kill him is a bit much. I don't like them either, but that doesn't mean I'd kill them." _It's okay to say you hate them, you know.._

"Your father always did lean towards the dark side," Obi-Wan said sadly. _It was different, for a time.. Back when the second Star Wars cabinet was plugged in.._

"Do you think maybe he thought we were dead too?" Luke asked as they finally reached the office wherein the holding cell was located. _He would have come looking for us otherwise.._ _Definitely._

"That is probably the case," Darth Vader could hear Obi-Wan say from outside the office.

"That voice.." Darth Vader breathed heavily and said in disbelief, "That's impossible.." _No, I can feel it. They're here.. Alive._ "But how?" _Where have they been all these years? What about Han and Leia?_

* * *

Leon's group ordered their meals and talked as their food was prepared.

"So that's why you're so afraid of bugs?" Garret asked while laughing, "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. I just never would have imagined something like that being the reason."

"Yeah, yeah," Leon said, "It's not like I chose it. Besides if it weren't for that I'd be way too good. I figure it gives you guys a chance to shine too." _Nobody beats Sarge and Kohut though._

"I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of," Minty said sweetly as she smiled at Leon and softly squeezed his arm. _Sooo much better without the armor! If we were alone I'd probably hug him to bits.  
_

"I know," Leon said with a chuckle. _You sure know how to push my buttons._

"So besides racing.." Garret said, "What sorts of things do you girls do for fun when you're not with us?"

"Well we were with you two every day since we got plugged in," Jubileena said with a smile, "I don't really know what kind of answer you expect to hear."

"Silly question," Minty said and started laughing.

"Well I suppose that's true," Garret said with a smile, "I was just wondering in case you two had any other suggestions as to what we could do together."

Their food arrived and they ate.

"Well.. We're racers," Jubileena said after thinking on it. So that's pretty much what we do most of the time, you know? What would you guys do for fun if you never left your game?"

"..Okay so it's a tougher question than I thought," Garret said with a chuckle, "Probably something boring like cards or something. Or target practice." _Come to think of it our backstories don't include stuff like having fun.._

"Since you want us to have fun," Jubileena said, "How about we look around the town some more?" She patted Garret's hair. _Softer than I expected it to be. _"I like your hair, by the way."

Garret laughed and said, "I'm glad you approve." _You're setting me on fire.. _"That sounds like a good idea." _She's lightened up a lot since yesterday._

* * *

"So wait, everyone saw us spilling our guts just now?" Neff asked, "What's wrong with you, man? This stuff is personal enough as it is. Geez, give a little warning next time, would ya?"

"Actually, the broadcast only started once Zorba started speaking," Gary said, "So you don't have to worry so much about what _you_ said."

"I got a question here," Bowser said, "What made the two of you," he pointed at Sonny and Bobby, "decide to defend Jet the way you did?.. I mean sure Jet is sorry and everything, I don't doubt that.. But you've been keeping your true identities secret for so long and then you just tell us like it doesn't even mean anything."

"We feel responsible, in a sense," Sonny said adjusting his glasses calmly, "You see, I am the one who gave Turbo the means to manipulate games in the first place."

"You what?!" Ralph asked angrily. _He was the cause of all this from the beginning? Oh wait.. What's wrong with me? I knew that already.  
_

"Let me finish, Ralph," Sonny said with a sigh, "You see Turbo was on the verge of going insane due to the jealousy he felt after RoadBlasters took the limelight away from Turbo Time. I helped him because I thought he would tweak his own game to make it better to gain back a bit of popularity. It's a method that has worked for E-Z Livin' quite well over these past 22 years.." He sighed. "However, that's not what he did.. It never happened before until then, not in this arcade. Someone trying to take over another game, I mean.. It was completely unheard of. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret that choice. I only ever did the same for one other person, and that's Bobby here, when Asteroids broke down.." _Of course he tried to give the code out to as many people as he could after **his** life turned around.. Luckily only Markowski accepted it, and **he** made good._ "I was naïve.. Turbo Time and RoadBlasters paid the price for it.." _And then of course Turbo took over King Candy in Sugar Rush.. But didn't you know all this already?  
_

"Jet reminds us of ourselves in a way, bromigo," Bobby said, "We may not have controlled people or outright hijacked games and stuff like he and his brother did, but we all made mistakes that we regret and try to atone for. I think he deserves this chance." _I'm still kicking myself about how I've been trying to give out the code to anyone and everyone. I should have taken this more seriously.. _Several people in the room sighed to themselves.

"Does anyone have anything else to add?" Clyde asked. _This meeting has gone on a bit longer than usual already.._ There was a moment of silence. "Then let's close out with the Bad Guy affirmation.."

Ralph and the other regulars stood slowly, signaling for the others to do the same. They awkwardly linked hands, especially those not used to these kinds of meetings.

The regulars led the chant, "I am Bad and that's good. I will never be Good and that's not bad. There's nobody I'd rather be than me."

"Okay gang. See you next week," Clyde said tiredly, "And fellas, please do come again. Whether you need to talk, or just want to share how your week has gone.. You know where to find us."

"I'll think about it," Dr. Boom said dismissively, "Jet.. I owe you a punch in the gut at least, but I'll let you off this time.." He pointed at him threateningly. "But you know what to expect if you pull anything like this again." Just like that he left.

"Don't even talk to us," Jacques said to Jet, "But we appreciate the offer and accept."

"You'd better make good on what you said," Zorba said before leaving with Jacques.

"Just stay out of Joust and we'll leave you alone," Bill said to Jet. Bill and Ted left.

"So your name is Neff then?" Rocksteady asked, "It was quite a shock for me to see another rhinoceros-man in this arcade." _I'll just ignore Jet. He'll take the hint._

"Yes, it's nice to meet you Rocksteady," Neff said happily and shook his hand. They left chatting, to see if they had any other similarities.

"All things considered.." Ralph said, "I think that actually didn't end so badly, aside from you nearly getting choked to death, I mean." _Sorry about that.._

"Yeah.. It still hurts," Jet said. _I suppose I should just give them space.._

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Ralph said, "Your girlfriend is probably in tears about now."

"Good luck, Jet," Gary said with his arms crossed, "No hard feelings on this end. But I'd advise you to keep to your game."

"I plan to.." Jet said timidly.

Gary left. _I still can't believe Set would leave a message like that.. Of all the nerve.. But with this our debt is paid in full._ The signal stopped broadcasting.

* * *

"Well it finally calmed down," Calhoun said. _Getting kind of bored now.._ She watched as the Bad Guys left the meeting from the other side of the power strip. A few of their Good Guy counterparts slowly joined up with them on the way back to their games. _Looks like it somewhat paid off.._

"I hope you don't mind too much what we've done here," Gary said as he approached her and Felix.

"You took one hell of a risk.." Calhoun said, "But I can't say that I blame you.." _What was his name again?_

"It's gone on for too long," Gary said as he shook his head, "24 years.. Nearly 31 years now for some."

"'s Felix?" Ralph's voice could be heard faintly. They were on the other end of the power strip at the time.

"It sounds like Ralph's calling you," Calhoun said teasingly.

"I'm surprised that there's still a crowd over there," Felix said with a chuckle, glancing over at the crowd. He had finally calmed down after not having to fix bloody noses, broken hands and the like for a while now.

"Where's Felix?" Ralph could be heard asking again.

"Well I'd better go see what he wants," Felix said happily, "He must be yelling pretty loud for it to reach this far. He started walking over slowly. _What's with this guy running?_ He laughed to himself, looking up at the game a small figure in a brown cloak ran into. _Dragon's Lair.. Huh.. I hope they know what they're doing, going in__to __**that**__ game__.._

* * *

Just before.. Ralph and Jet slowly made their way out of Pac-Man, the other Bad Guys long gone. William stayed behind to chat with Clyde about his opinion on what to do with Darth Vader.

Jet walked out of Pac-Man's gateway with Ralph trailing behind, giving him some space. Most of the crowd had left, the ones remaining were huddled a good distance away.

There was an awkward silence as Jet stared at the crowd and they at him. He couldn't smile, even though he was happy that the meeting went as well as it did.

"Ralph!" Vanellope and Vannie yelled happily. The worry slowly fading from their minds. Vanellope resisted the urge to glitch over to him.

Taffyta and Rancis hugged Crumbelina.

"He's okay, see?" Taffyta said happily. _I was worried for a while there when the alert system stopped broadcasting the meeting.._

Most of the soldiers from Hero's Duty had walked off a ways to take a break since the crowd was behaving itself for a while now, and the crowd itself was thinning out rapidly.

Just as the remaining members of the crowd slowly began to disperse, something green resembling a water balloon came hurdling at Jet, hitting him in the side. It popped on contact.

Jet instinctively grabbed at his side to check for damage and found that his outfit had begun to erode where some kind of liquid had splashed on him. _What is this? __Some kind of prank?_ He looked around and saw a short figure with a brown cloak running away. Before he could think about it any further he could feel a hot stinging sensation on his skin.

It felt as though whatever hit him was slowly eating away at him. He looked down, horrified as his skin began to slowly melt away as it was eaten by the liquid. He gasped in pain, falling to his knees before turning to lay on his side. _And so ends the tale of Jet Chocolisto.._

"What was **that**?" Ralph asked urgently as he ran up to Jet, "Jet, are you okay?" He looked down at the wound forming on Jet's side. "Felix.. Where's Felix?!" _This is bad.. __What is this, some kind of acid?_

"Jet!" Crumbelina screamed as she ran to his side, "What happened?!" _That's horrible.. __Everything was going to be fine.. Who did this?_

"Don't.. Don't touch it.." Jet barely managed to say as he showed her the palm of his hand which was slowly melting as well, "It's spreading to whatever it touches.." He trembled, unable to do much else. He could feel his heart in his throat. _I have to hang on.._

Taffyta, Rancis, Vanellope and Vannie could only watch in horror. What could they do? Where's Felix? Would Jet be able to make it to Sugar Rush 2? These questions desperately ran through their heads.

"Where's Felix?!" Ralph asked again, yelling as loudly as he could.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm not saying anything about who the guy is yet.


	33. Chapter 33

"Luke.. Obi-Wan," Darth Vader said as he breathed heavily, "It is good to see you. I do however wish it were under better circumstances." _That's it? You should at least tell them we thought they were dead._ "I thought for sure that you were dead.." _Such an annoyance._

"We thought you were dead too," Luke said, his eyes watering slightly, "Where've you been all these years, dad?" _It's your fault for not leaving DDR very often._ _He's seriously blaming me for that.._ _I'd have left more often if Emi wanted to come too._

"I.. I was hiding away with the few stormtroopers who made it out as well," Darth Vader said, "We stayed in the forests of Undead Apocalypse 3 away from prying eyes all this time. It may be different for us from Star Wars, but the others in this arcade still treat Bad Guys like monsters."

"Perhaps not for much longer," Obi-Wan said sagely, "There were a lot of people watching the meeting you attended." _Yeah, but then he went and almost killed someone.__Yes, h__is turn likely did more harm than good.. "_Unfortunately we were unable to catch the rest of it."

"It was.. interesting," Darth Vader said, his mood having softened considerably knowing that his son and mentor were alive all these years. He began going over the circumstances of Jet and Set's other victims and retold Jet's story. "What would you have done?" _N__ot the choice we took.__ I wish he would shut up._

"Well that's a lot to take in all at once.." Luke said, "But he at least offered us a place to stay, right? That's gotta be worth something." _Of course Emi probably wouldn't want to move.__ I can't believe I have to share with this guy. He never shuts up.. _"Think that.. I would probably leave him alone.."

"What of Han and Leia?" Obi-Wan asked, "Were they perhaps with you?" _I couldn't see them living in a forest for years..__ Am I really this cynical?_

After a pause Darth Vader sadly said, "No.. I suppose they were lost after all.. We barely managed to get out in time ourselves. The world was tearing itself apart. Random code formations were cutting through the Death Star.. I don't see how anyone could survive that. We were closest to the exit and we were the last to leave. The others.. didn't make it.." _I find your lack of faith disturbing. The arcade was closed, they might not have been there to begin with._ _You're lucky we inhabit the same body. _He sighed. _It's not like he can even hear this._

* * *

"Something's wrong.." Gary said as he turned to look across Game Station East to Pac-Man's gateway. _Ralph's voice.. Something's off about it.. _He ran to Felix who was casually walking in the same direction. "I'll give you a lift." Gary picked him up before Felix had a chance to realize what was happening to him. He ran, Felix in tow in the direction where Ralph was. "Get your hammer out."

Calhoun, unsure of the reasoning behind Gary's actions chased after him yelling, "Hey!"

* * *

"Stay with us, Jet," Rancis said as reassuringly as he could, "I know it hurts.. But Felix can't be far.. Ralph can you go look for him?" _Felix must be some kind of medic if Ralph called for him specifically. This looks __really __bad.. Even if they hate Jet, who could do something like this? Even that other guy is tame by comparison.  
_

"Y-yeah.." Ralph said standing up and looking around to see if he could catch a glimpse of Felix. He noticed Gary was quickly closing the gap between them while carrying Felix under his arm, "H-he's almost here. Just hang in there for a **little** while longer, Jet." _This is all my fault. Why did I have the stupid idea of bringing him to Bad-Anon? Of __**course**__ something like this would happen.._

"I'll. Be fine.." Jet whispered as he lay there slowly bleeding out. _I can't let myself go out like this.. Who w__ould__ stay with Crumbelina? She has her mom, but she clearly told me that she needs **me**.. But I'm so tired.._ "You're.. a good guy, Ralph." _He'll be able to do something.. _His eyes felt heavier with each passing second. Crumbelina cried as she tightly squeezed his good hand. It was the best she could do while keeping away from the acid slowly eating away at him.

"Only dying people get to talk like that," Vanellope said sternly, fighting back tears, "And you **ain't** dying." _Don't you have something you need to do? __I won't forgive you if you die right now, before even doing anything. __Didn't you say you're not the weak person you used to be? Don't make me watch someone die..  
_

"Oh my lands!" Felix screamed as Gary made an abrupt halt and placed Felix down beside Jet. Wasting no time, Felix smacked Jet with his hammer. Calhoun caught up shortly afterward.

Jet sat up suddenly, taking a deep, gasping breath as his wounds were instantly healed. He felt his side, the acid was no longer there as well. Crumbelina and Taffyta wasted not even a single second to hug him tightly. Rancis simply sighed in relief, letting them have their moment.

Vannie and Vanellope hugged Ralph. They were happy for Jet, but didn't want to get in the way of Crumbelina and Taffyta. It just wouldn't have felt right.

Vanellope sniffled as she cried a little. _I never want to see anything like that again.. __I just want us to go home.._ Ralph hugged her and Vannie softly, silently cursing his inability to do anything under such a crisis.

"We thought you were going to die.." Crumbelina said, sniffling as the tears continued to stream down her face. She refused to let him go. _It's__ okay.. __You're __**okay**__.. I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost __you.__._

"I'm so glad.." Taffyta said, her makeup was completely ruined as the tears freely rolled down her cheeks. _Whoever did this is going to pay.. _"Who did this?"

Jet choked up, the shock of nearly dying twice within the span of not even an hour getting the better of him. Up to that point was the best he could do. He couldn't stop himself from crying any longer. "I'm sorry I worried you," he said in the most honest and humble way he could muster as he hugged them back tightly. _I'm here, Crumbelina. Taffyta.. _

Ralph sighed in relief and silent contemplation on what Taffyta just said. He felt his blood beginning to boil. "Who did this?" he repeated, nearly growling. He desperately fought the urge to clench his fists while still hugging Vanellope and Vannie. _This will __**not**__ go unpunished. If it's a fight they want, I'll give them a __**real**__ fight._

Something snapped into place in Jet's head after hearing the question a second time. "It.. It was a short guy in a brown cloak, I think," he said, recalling what he saw moments before he realized what was happening. "He ran off as soon as I was hit." _Who though? I couldn't see their face.. It couldn't have been anyone from Bad-Anon, they're all too tall.._

"So **that's** why he was running!" Felix said angrily, "He ran into Dragon's Lair!" _I could have stopped him! If only I knew.. No!_ He shook his head._ Jet wouldn't have lasted much longer. It's a good thing I didn't think to chase after __that guy__.._

* * *

Leon's group sat at the table in the restaurant talking for a couple of hours about any random topic coming to mind, eventually coming to this one.

"So what about your house, Leon?" Minty asked. _Wait. Maybe I shouldn't have asked that. I hope there's nothing depressing about it._

"I go there on occasion," Leon said, "I usually just rest up in the barracks like the others instead of making the trek all the way out here. It's nothing fancy, just a one bedroom brick house." _I haven't been there in weeks though._

"Fancy doesn't really suit your character anyways," Minty said teasingly, running her hand along the top of Leon's shaven head, "I wouldn't have it any other way." _Squeak squeak, squeak squeak. Too bad it doesn't really make that sound._ She laughed. _I'd kind of like to see __his house__ though.. __Slow__ down me, no need to let your curiosity get the better of you._

Jubileena laughed and asked, "So what sorts of sights are there to see around here? Any landmarks or tourist locations?" _It's kind of a long shot. This area is inaccessible to players after all.._

"I wouldn't really call it a tourist location," Garret said, "But there's a beach about a mile up north." _Come to think of it Jubileena would look really nice in a swimsuit.. __I shouldn't get ahead of myself._

"Oh there's a beach here too?" Minty asked excitedly, "The one in our game is full of sugar so no one actually swims in it. You'd get all sticky." _It's too late today but that sounds like so much fun! We should have had them get swimwear too. If only I knew! Oh, I don't have a swimsuit either.. _She groaned quietly in frustration.

Leon chuckled. _She must be getting ideas again. __Of course, I've__ got a few ideas myself._

"A beach, huh?" Jubileena mused, "That wouldn't be such a bad idea.. Kind of late today though.." _When was the last time I've been swimming? Hmm. Have I __even __been swimming? I do know how to swim.. __Well that's w__eird.._

"Should we head back?" Minty asked inquisitively, "I'm not sure how late it is, hehe." _We've been talking about random stuff for a while now. Plus I'd like to be alone with Leon again.. He has to feel the same way, right?_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Gary and Felix save the day. Gary has really good ears. For those of you wondering at what point the Jet from this story and the one from 'Reload' branch off, it's this chapter, the exact moment should be fairly obvious given the word choice used.

I write another story named 'Reload' that is an offshoot, of this chapter in a way. It's about Jet going back to the past after 'dying' in this chapter. When he wakes up, it's the day before RoadBlasters gets plugged in. From there, in addition to Jet and the others trying to save Turbo Time from someone else who went to the past in a similar manner, it's also a romance story about Turbo and Roxie (she is the 'Good Girl' of RoadBlasters who Turbo originally never met), as well as Set/Sorceress. That's right, Set. The creepy twin of Jet. It makes more sense if you read it ;).


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note:** I went back and fixed the Star Wars segment of the previous chapter. The formatting got messed up when I submitted it to the site and didn't notice it was messed up until someone told me.

* * *

"So.." Darth Vader started as he sat back down and crossed his arms, "What is my sentence? Or shall there be a trial first?" _Of course something like this would happen when it turns out they're alive.__We have rotten luck._

Ashley sighed and scratched her head. _What should I do? This is very different from the fights I'm used to dealing with. They told me to use my judgment on matters like this, but.._ She walked behind the desk in her office and leaned her hands into its surface. "I think that.." _Would this be alright?_ "What we could do is let you go, however.. Only if you agree to some minor code modification to ensure you don't cause anymore trouble.." _I hate the thought of having to do this, but if he agrees to it, then it should be okay, right?_

Darth Vader laughed and shook his head, "Code modification.. Everything boils down to code modification, doesn't it?" _Would we even still be us after th__at__?_

"I'm sorry," Ashley said meekly, "There's no other way I can trust you out there." _What would Alex or William do in this situation?_ "If that's no good, you can stay here until I get a second opinion."

Luke and Obi-Wan stood there in silence. It wasn't their choice to make.

"I have lost track of how long I've waited," Darth Vader said, "Now that I know these two were alive all this time.. What is one more day?" _What would a different opinion be, I_ _wonder?_

* * *

"I _suppose_ we could bring you two back," Leon said with a smile. _The four of us hanging out is fun and all. It's great.. B__ut I'd really rather it be just the two of us. At least for a little while._

"Yeah, I suppose it's getting a little bit late," Jubileena said with a sigh. _What should I __say?_

"You alright?" Garret asked as he gently placed his hand on her back.

"I'm fine," Jubileena cracked a smile, "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Alright," Garret said, "Let's get you home." _Did she not sleep well yesterday?_

They made their way back to Sugar Rush 2, by then the Bad-Anon meeting had already ended for some time.

As Jubileena and Garret got to her house she invited him inside.

"Sorry if I seem a little out of it," Jubileena said with a sigh as she sat down abruptly.

"Is everything okay?" Garret asked taking a seat across from her, "If there's something bothering you.." _Did something happen? Was it something we said?_

"No, it's nothing like that," Jubileena said, "Well kind of.. I just don't know what to do, that's all.."

"What do you mean?" Garret asked, completely baffled.

"I didn't think it would be this complicated having a boyfriend," Jubileena said, "Oh! Not that I'm complaining or anything.. But I just.. I don't know how I should do this.." _It seems so easy in movies.._

Garret nodded slowly and said, "I guess that would make sense.." _I haven't had a girlfriend before either, but I guess it's different for everyone._

Jubileena laughed at herself and said, "I just thought that I would maybe instantly find it easier if you didn't have your armor on, and that I'd be all giddy and everything would be better.. But I'm still nervous about the whole thing. Paranoid maybe. I don't know."

"What? That's normal," Garret said, "It's always easier to think about something than it is to actually do it. A lot of people think that life in the military is all fun and glory for instance. I did for a while myself.. So if you're not ready to go any further than this, I won't hold it against you.. You don't have to push yourself worrying if I'll leave you or something." _I wonder if I made her uncomfortable earlier.._

"I appreciate that, sorry.." Jubileena said sadly, "I just didn't want you to think I was trying to lead you on or anything.. This is embarrassing." She laughed at herself again. "I do love you.. I wouldn't invite you inside otherwise." She smiled briefly. "But I don't think I can handle anything more.. um.. _advanced_ right now." _This is so awkward.._

"I love you too.." Garret said, "I should have said it sooner, but it's a little more difficult with Leon and Minty around.."

"I know!" Jubileena said with a sigh, "It's a little frustrating. There's no way I could talk like this around them.. Not even with just you and Minty. _At least I don't have to worry so much anymore.._ "I can at least do this.." She nervously walked over to the chair he was sitting in and sat in his lap and laughed. "Okay this is more embarrassing than I thought it would be." She wrapped an arm around his shoulders regardless.

"Just tell me if I make you uncomfortable," Garret said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her stomach.

Jubileena sighed, feeling hot from all the embarrassment. She smiled and said, "It really is better without the armor though."

* * *

"I wonder what's bothering Jubileena," Minty said in thought as she and Leon went into her house. _She seemed fine all day until we started talking about swimming. I wonder if she doesn't know how to swim? _They sat down on her couch next to each other.

"You think maybe she doesn't want to go to the beach?" Leon asked. "Maybe she'd be too embarrassed to show off in a swimsuit or something.." _Uh oh.. Maybe shouldn't have said it like that.._

"Hmm.. I don't think that's it," Minty said, "She may be uncomfortable in groups most of the time, but it's not because she's worried about how she looks." _I wish I could have gotten her alone to ask her about it. __Hopefully Garret can cheer her up._

"Well.. er.. Either way I'm sure Garret will cheer her up," Leon said. _Gaaahh, d__odged a bullet._

"Hmm, yeah," Minty said with a smile as she leaned into him, "I'm sure he'll think of something.. You don't think it's hot in here with that jacket on?" _Yeah, the jacket can go.._

"Maybe a little," Leon said with a smile, "Still not used to wearing something other than armor. It gets super hot in that armor so I didn't really notice until you said anything." He took the jacket off. "There."

"Mmm.." Minty said as she hugged him from the side, "Yeah, this is definitely better." _He's like a big teddy bear. Except like 239 times better._

Leon laughed and wrapped an arm around her then said, "I love you." _I don't know what it is you see in me, but I__'m glad you see it._

Minty laughed and said, "I love you too. You're such a sweetie." _I could fall asleep like this._

"You're definitely sweeter," Leon said. _Wait.. did I initiate a competition?_

Minty chuckled and said, "I like that about you.."

"What's that?" Leon asked happily. _Guess not._

"You're just so.. Hmm.." Minty said, "I don't know, but I like it." _I don't even know what I mean. But I mean it, whatever it is._ She leaned up ready to kiss him. _Don't leave me hanging now._ Taking the hint, he leaned his head down slowly and kissed her, placing his free hand along the side of her neck. Almost as if to follow his lead she got up slightly to make it easier and placed a hand on his chest. She laughed and deepened their kiss. _Finally.._

* * *

Jet finally got to his feet with the help of Crumbelina. He still felt remarkably weak despite being healed. There was no pain, but he was completely fatigued. He tried to shake off the dizziness, but it persisted.

"I-I would recommend taking things slow," Felix said thoughtfully, "You may be healed, but it takes a while to get back to normal after this kind of thing."

"You guys should bring Jet back to your game," Ralph said to Crumbelina, Taffyta, and Rancis specifically, "We'll take it from here." _How can I get Vanellope and Vannie to go with them?_ "Could the two of you go with them?"

"No!" Vanellope said sadly as she hugged him tightly. _I can't shake the feeling that it's a really bad idea for him to go there.._

"I'm not about to sit back while you go off playing hero," Vannie said in an annoyed tone, "That guy attacked one of ours. No flex on this one, I'm going with you."

"But.. I'm **made** for this kind of thing," Ralph said, "Felix is too, to an extent.. Calhoun certainly is.. But you guys are racers.. I don't want to risk you getting hurt. I couldn't even protect Jet just now.." _Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be._

"Is everything alright?" William asked as he approached them, finally having left Pac-Man.

"Olsen, we have something to report," Calhoun said sternly, "Jet here was attacked a moment ago. The culprit fled into Dragon's Lair." She pointed with her thumb behind her.

William's eyes narrowed as he looked over to the sign above the gateway to Dragon's Lair. "Give me a description," he said. _I had a feeling this was bad news.._

"He was short and he was wearing a brown cloak," Jet said shakily, "That's all I saw.. He threw some kind of.. water balloon at me.. with acid or something inside it. I would have died if not for Felix." _A water balloon, seriously.._

William sighed heavily and said, "Any idea who it could be?" He started towards the gateway to Dragon's Lair and motioned for them to follow him.

"I have no idea," Jet said. Crumbelina was quietly helping him walk. William felt around the wall just inside the gateway and a hidden panel slid open revealing a console.

"What's this?" Ralph asked. _First time I've seen anything like this. __T__here wasn't even a seam before._

"It's exactly what it looks like," William said plainly, "Did anyone else enter the game after him? Says here a character named Charley Chuck was the last to enter." _Now where have I heard that name before?_

Jet's blood ran cold.

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's a name Jet knows well.


	35. Chapter 35

"So is there anything else you would like to talk about?" Garret asked, "Leon and I agreed that we don't need to wait on each other to go back, so I can stay as long as you'd like."

"I'm out of ideas, sorry," Jubileena said with a laugh as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Alright, so about tomorrow," Garret said, "How do you really feel about us going to the beach?"

"I meant it," Jubileena said, "Of course I've never actually been swimming as far as I can tell, but I know how to.. The other day was the first time I can remember even being at a beach, and that was more.. chasing after that guy." _Now that I think about it, it was the guy controlling Garret hiding around the beach.._

"It'll be fun," Garret said, "I'd like to think so anyways. I suppose we'll have to pick out swimsuits though if we're going in the water." _I wonder what kind she'll end up picking out.._

Jubileena laughed, "Yeah, and I can see you're pretty excited about it." _I can feel that, you know._

Garret laughed, "I can't help that, sorry. It's got a mind of its own."

"Mhm," Jubileena said with a smile, "Well sorry, it'll just have to keep thinking." _Agh. How am I saying all this? Haha.._

"So what sorts of places are there around here that we haven't seen yet?" Garret asked. _Might be best to change the subject._

"Well, you've been to a few of the main areas already," Jubileena said, "There's a bonus track in Diet Cola Mountain that's pretty cool in a way. There's another bonus track that wasn't finished in time around Sugar Beach. That's where.. you know.." _Where else? I'd like to stop bringing up that guy.._

"Oh yeah.." Garret said, "That's where Set met his end.." _Come to think of it my head is still a little muddled from that time. Everything he did in my body is still a personal memory even though I wasn't the one doing any of those things. It's a little disconcerting._ "One of these days I would like to see that place though.." _Maybe get a little more closure on the matter.._

"Sorry," Jubileena said, "I don't mean to keep bringing him up like this."

"It's okay," Garret said, "It's something I think about from time to time anyways. Don't feel bad about it."

"Aside from that there's the Taffy Swamp, the Twizzler Field, hm.. the Junkyard used to be my favorite place to go, back when I used to tune up my kart there. It's a place not many people go to since it's filled with broken down karts."

"Why isn't it your favorite place anymore?" Garret asked.

"Well that was before Minty started hanging out with me," Jubileena said sheepishly, "It's not so fun being alone anymore, you know? It was my place I could go to and work in peace and quiet without anyone bothering me." _I must sound pretty pathetic._

Garret softly tightened his grip around her waist and leaned his head into her shoulder then said, "Well you're not alone anymore, are you? I don't think that's something you'll have to worry about now."

Jubileena chuckled and said, "You're right. I couldn't be happier about that." She kissed him on the cheek. _Would be kind of hard to give him a proper kiss at this angle._ She gently loosened his grip on her, stood up and stretched. _I wish I didn't have to get up._ "Try not to be too disappointed." She smiled sweetly. "Would you mind standing up?"

"If that's what the lady wants," Garret said teasingly as he slowly stood up.

Before he was completely upright she nervously grabbed the back of his head and wrapped her other arm around him, resting her hand on his back. _I'll just have to get used to this sort of thing._ She kissed him lightly at first, feeling out the situation before deepening their kiss.

Garret was a bit surprised by the suddenness of it all, but welcomed it wholeheartedly, pulling himself closer to her and softly ran a hand down the small of her back. _You can be surprisingly bold sometimes._

She slid off his jacket and softly led him back first into the wall of her living room. _That's better._ She placed her hands along his jaw and touched her forehead to his, breathing contentedly then said, "Sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me." She giggled and didn't give him a chance to respond before kissing him again. _What's gotten into me?_

"Mmm.."Garret mumbled happily and pulled his mouth away softly to say, "I thought you weren't ready for anything like this." _Of course I'm not complaining._

* * *

Leon stood up clumsily, Minty's hand still lightly pushing down on him. _She's a keeper. __I hope she doesn't end up thinking I'm just after.. __this._ He ran his fingers through her hair slowly and ran his other hand down the small of her back and softly grabbed her butt.

She laughed and bit his bottom lip playfully.

"Ouch," Leon said jokingly, "You can be quite rough, can't you?"

"I guess so," Minty said happily, "If you want to say anything else, now's the time to do it."

"My mind's drawing a blank on that one," Leon said happily before kissing her deeply again, "Oh.. You _should_ tell me when to stop. Fair warning."

Minty laughed. _Oh I don't know __about that..__S__ince it's him it's fine._ "Who said anything about stopping?" she asked sweetly. She quietly pulled him along to her room.

Later, as they lay in her bed after having sex (I'd rather not have to bump the rating up. Sorry if you wanted to read the rest of that ;)).

"I hope you don't think I'm too easy," Minty said as she cuddled into him. _I've always been a little over affectionate. Maybe I should have waited.._

"Of course not," Leon said, "I was a little surprised.. But I wouldn't say you're too easy at all."

Minty chuckled and asked, "You're not just saying that are you now?" She ran her fingers along his jaw. _I want you to tell the truth even if the answer __might__ hurt._

"I wouldn't just say something like that," Leon said, "I mean it. Besides, even if we never did this sort of thing I'd still want to go out with you. And life is way too short to take it slow anyhow. You never know when something can go wrong. Like what was going on in Hero's Duty until the day me and Garret met you and Jubileena.." _And you never know when you can end up dying __for real__.._ "If it makes you feel any more comfortable about it we could always get married. Now of course _that_ might be going a bit too fast." He laughed. _I wish I hadn't said it quite like that.._

"Hm, yeah.." Minty said softly, "Something in me just clicked and I couldn't stop myself. Well, I didn't want to stop myself is more like it.." _Getting married does sound nice.. But we should wait a while longer._ "So I guess we'll have to get swimsuits for tomorrow. Unless Jubileena decides against it anyways."

"She probably wants to go.. Maybe. I don't know.." Leon said, "Geez, maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all." He laughed.

"So how would you feel about staying the night?" Minty asked, "Or would that be too suspicious to your friends?" _He's so comfortable to be around.. Since when was it like this?_

* * *

"Charley Chuck?" Jet asked as if the wind was knocked out of him, "He was the Good Guy in Food Fight.." _It would be someone like him, wouldn't it? Little annoying kid always acted like he owned the place._

"Really?" Felix asked, "Now that you mention it, yeah! He was!" _To think that little munchkin would resort to something like this.._

"Well we at least know who we're dealing with now," Ralph said, "What's the worst a little kid can do against all of us? Well.. Some of us. The rest of you should go home where it's safe."

"There you go saying that again," Vannie said in an annoyed tone, "If you're going, I'm going. There's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind."

"Before you start arguing over this, I'd recommend you all go home now," William said plainly, "I'll look into it. It's my job. You'd all better go get some rest because the arcade opens in a few hours. I'll let you know if I find anything." He typed away at the console setting it so that an alarm would go off for Charley Chuck should he happen to try leaving.

Ralph raised his hand and pointed at William halfheartedly then dropped it and said, "Fine. You win, we'd better get going then. We'll settle it tomorrow." _It can't be helped. I just hope nothing happens to Dragon's Lair while we're off doing our jobs._

The group minus Felix, Calhoun, Gary, and William went back to Sugar Rush 2.

"I can't believe you keep insisting on this," Vannie said as she, Ralph and Vanellope entered the castle, "I can handle myself. The guy throws water balloons."

"Yeah, water balloons filled with a highly corrosive **acid**," Ralph said, "You saw what it did to Jet."

"It can just as easily do the same to you, Ham-hands!" Vanellope said angrily, "Why do you have to keep doing this? Can't you just let the surge protectors handle this?" _I finally have my mom and dad picked out, I don't need to lose them already._

"Alright, look," Ralph said sternly, "I know William is capable of his job and everything, but I can't just let it be like this. I made a promise that I would protect Jet and I failed. Miserably. I have to make sure this guy is stopped. There's no guarantee William can do this alone."

"Then I'm going with you," Vanellope said stubbornly, "I'll just glitch us out of the way if he throws anything at us." _I need some stuff I can throw at him too. Two can play at that game._

* * *

Crumbelina stopped in the middle of the street on the way to either Jet's house or hers. _After today I think it'd be best if we stick together.._

"Y-your place or mine?" Crumbelina asked nervously, "You've already been attacked twice today, I'm not leaving you alone." _We just keep getting pushed together, don't we?_

"I don't know," Jet said with a sigh, "I just wish things would have gone differently today.." _Does it really matter whose house? I'd really rather not be alone right now so I won't argue._

"I think everybody wishes it would have gone differently today.." Crumbelina said, "Let's just go to my house, I don't want my mom to worry.."

* * *

"I can't believe the nerve!" Taffyta said frustratedly as she slammed open the door to her and Rancis' house, "Kid or not, you don't throw **acid** at someone, no matter what the person did." _I'm going with them. _"We're going with them tomorrow! Don't try to talk me out of it." _Ralph better not make a fuss either or I'll smack him upside the head so hard.._

"What good would us being there do?" Rancis asked pleadingly, "What Ralph said is true. We're racers. We're not fighters. We've only got one medic, and besides it's just one guy."

"I said not to try talking me out of it, Rancis!" Taffyta said as she sat down on the couch and crossed her arms. _I don't care how dangerous it is or how unnecessary us being there will be. I want to be there when that punk goes down._

* * *

"Shall we meet up tomorrow when the arcade closes then?" Gary asked, "I have a stake in this as well, you know." _It's not even about Jet._

"You're anxious to help today, aren't you?" Calhoun asked.

"Security of the arcade at risk?" Gary asked, "Of course I'd help in any way I can."

"He wants to help, Tammy," Felix said, "He's trained for this sort of thing. I don't think it can hurt to have him along." _It's different for the racers.. It's not in their code. I can understand their feelings, but it's just not enough.._

"Well I'm not saying he can't," Calhoun said sternly, "I just expected less."

"You shouldn't," Gary said, "You may be leaps and bounds better than the Good Guys we're used to dealing with, but that kind of attitude still hurts."

"Right," William said, "Well just don't do anything until the arcade closes again. We don't need any games going out of order. I'm going talk this over with Ashley and Alex. Go get some rest. There won't be anyone going in or out of here for now."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Oh Gary.. You just don't even get it.


	36. Chapter 36 - End of Day 3

"That's my limit," Jubileena said with a laugh, "Sorry." _I really can't go any farther than this right now. I hope you understand._

"I'm more than happy enough already," Garret said with a smile, "I really should go anyways," he stroked her cheek lovingly, "I don't want the others to get too curious about where I'm at." _Especially not Leon. I'll never hear the end of it if I don't get back before it's time for the arcade to open._

"Alright," Jubileena said with a hint of sadness in her voice, "I'll see you when the arcade closes next." _I think I'll have a cold shower before bed._ She did.

Garret waved happily and went back to Hero's Duty quietly humming the Sugar Rush theme song.

* * *

"You sure that's alright?" Leon asked teasingly, "Because I'd be more than happy to stay if you want me to." _What does that even mean anyways? How can you be more than happy? That saying never did make sense to me. __Why'd __that saying have to rub off on me__ from Garret in the first place?_

Minty giggled and said, "Yep! After that I don't really think you need to go anywhere." _I'd even be up for another round, but I need to push that out of my head for now._ She cuddled into him more closely and ran her fingers along his chest. "Let's see you get some sleep, hmm?" She laughed.

"I'll try," Leon said with a laugh as he wrapped an arm around her.

After about 10 minutes just laying there they finally managed to fall asleep.

* * *

"Mom, we're home!" Crumbelina said as she and Jet walked inside the house.

"Oh! Hey dear," Oreanna said happily, "This gentleman here is General Lockload."

"Good evening," General Lockload said with a smile, "It's nice to meet you."

"G-good evening," Crumbelina said in surprise. _Did mom get a boyfriend or something?_

"He came to the restaurant earlier today and we just.. hit it off," Oreanna said trailing off into a chuckle.

"And you must be Jet," General Lockload said knowingly, "I've heard a bit about you." _Calhoun's report was.. interesting, to say the least._

"Y-yeah," Jet said forcing a smile, "That's me." _This could be a little complicated._

"Well, we're going to bed," Crumbelina said, "It's been a bit of a long day." _Please don't ask about it._

"Alright, honey," Oreanna said with a smile, "Goodnight." _She does look rather exhausted._

Crumbelina and Jet moseyed into her room, laid down and got comfortable.

Jet sighed and asked, "What do you think about all this?" _I know I'm not the only one having it rough. I can't believe I escaped death __**twice**__ today.. __Well the first time was tame compared to the second._

"I'm scared.." Crumbelina said as she wrapped an arm around him, "Of course I'm scared.. I saw it all, you know. I'd never been so scared in all my life." _Not being able to do anything about it made it even worse._

"That makes two of us.." Jet said, "I'm sorry I put you guys through that.. I just wish there was something I could do about it. I want to help stop him so badly.." _Attacking me is one thing, but there's no guarantee he'll stop there. He might even come here eventually.._

"Please don't," Crumbelina begged, "I know.. I know you have a personal stake in this, but you'll die. You really will, you know? Ralph was right. We're racers, not fighters."

"I used to be a fighter," Jet said solemnly, "I could be again.. Felix will be there, he can heal me if I do get attacked again."

"If you're going, you can't stop me from going with you," Crumbelina insisted, "You don't want that, do you?"

"Of course not.." Jet said, "But I **will** come back. One way or another I'll find a way to come back fine." _How can I keep her from coming along while still going myself? _"Can we just decide this later after talking it over with King Candy? He deserves to know everything that's going on.. Though I guess Ralph and Vannie are already going over what happened with him.."

"Fine," Crumbelina said, "But that doesn't mean I'm changing my mind." _You're making this so difficult._

"I'm sorry.." Jet said as he ran a hand through her hair. _It's not like I look forward to the prospect of going. But I have to be there. I caused this mess._

"I know.. Just go to sleep, okay?" Crumbelina said sadly, "We'll talk about it later." _I can't blame him for wanting to go.._

* * *

"William!" Ashley said as he entered the office, "We.. We need your opinion on something."

"I'd like your opinion on something as well," William said plainly, "You first." He crossed his arms.

"W-well.." Ashley mumbled.

"Should we leave?" Obi-Wan asked. _Yeah, we can just listen in anyways._

"No. That won't be necessary," Ashley said. _This involves them too, to an extent._ "We'd like a second opinion on what to do about.. Darth Vader." She looked over to him as he sat there rigidly with his arms crossed.

"Hmm.. Yeah," William said with a sigh, "I'm not really sure what we should do about him to be honest. Clyde suggested that we ask Jet's opinion on the matter, since he was the one who was attacked. It makes sense from a certain point of view, but all the same, I don't know.. Even if by some chance he does get set free, he'll likely be scorned for the rest of his life due to what he's done." _I've got a feeling that Jet won't hold his outburst against him.. He wanted Vader to finish his turn even after nearly getting choked to death. It's insane, but it fits._

"I second that motion," Darth Vader said as he breathed heavily, "It is far more acceptable than the alternative. Let us hear **my** judgment from **him** personally." _It is not such a stretch, is it?_ _There is still much he must answer for, but if he 'forgives' me, I will at least let him live._ He chuckled.

"Er.." Luke said, "Right.. So what was the other matter, if I may ask?" _You couldn't be more nosy about it if you tried._ Luke pinched his arm hard. _Ouch! That's real mature._

"Some maniac is holed up in Dragon's Lair," William said, "The guy nearly killed Jet with a water balloon filled with acid supposedly."

"T-that happened while I was in here?!" Ashley asked in shock. _I shouldn't have left the scene.. I could have stopped it.._

"Relax, Ashley," William said, "He's fine now. Felix was there to heal him up good as new. I've set an alarm to go off if he tries to leave, but you know how much use that is." _Power strips just don't have the functionality they need to perform anything more by gateways. We'd have to go in personally and even then what we can do is limited in scope._

"H-have you gone in yet?" Ashley asked. _Thank the Source no permanent damage was caused.._

"No," William said, "I think it best we wait until the arcade closes again before doing anything. We could spook them into doing something drastic before we can find them otherwise. It's best to have a larger group with us as well in case there's more than one guy." _I find it hard to believe a small child would be able to survive alone in Dragon's Lair of all places._

"Do you have someone in mind?" Ashley asked, "Game characters die permanently if they die outside their game.."

Luke quietly sat down in Ashley's chair. _Don't you dare prop our feet up._

"This sounds rather serious," Obi-Wan said, "Perhaps we could be of some assistance?" _It's been so long since I've seen any real action. __Don't get us killed, now._

"There is a rather large pool of people wanting to join in," William said plainly, "It's not the best of ideas, but if we're there with them it should be fine." _The problem is the kind of damage the kid can do._

"We already lost our game," Luke said, "This sounds like fun." _I said not to prop our feet up._ _The more you tell me not to do something, the more I want to do it. You know this by now._

"W-whatever you think is best.." Ashley said. _He's been at this 31 years longer than I have.._

"Right," William said, "We'll reconvene at the gateway of Dragon's Lair when the arcade closes then."

Luke and Obi-Wan went back to DDR.

"Finally some real action!" Luke said, "How many years has it been, Ben?"

"Anticipation is distraction," Obi-Wan said sagely, "Do not let your emotions get the better of you. We must meet this with calm strength."

"Right, right," Luke said, "Anyways I'm going to bed. Later." He ran off to bed.

"Cheer is a useful emotion at times," Obi-Wan said with a sigh, "If it does not mask carelessness.."

* * *

"Taffyta.." Rancis pleaded, "We'll just get in the way and make it harder for them to do what they need to."

"You don't know that!" Taffyta said. _You never know until you try!_

"Yes. I do," Rancis said, "If we get hit even once by that stuff, we're **dead**. We won't regenerate. **Ever**. Neither of us." _We're easy targets._

"But what about the others?" Taffyta asked, "It's exactly the same for them!.." _I know you're right.. I don't want us to get hurt either.. __e__s__p__ecially not die.. but.._

"Felix can heal them," Rancis said, "How many people do you think he can handle healing at once? We don't even **know** if it's just the one guy in there. What if that Charley guy took complete control of Dragon's Lair? Even if that's not the case, there are probably other people with him. I don't think someone can survive in a game called Dragon's Lair alone." _You know it's too dangerous for us in there. Come on, Taffyta.._

"I just don't want to get stuck doing nothing while everyone is risking their lives," Taffyta said. _I could never forgive myself.._

"Let's just **trust** them on this one, okay?" Rancis pleaded, "They'll come back just fine with those responsible. We would only get in the way since we can't fight."

Taffyta groaned. _I can't win this one._

"Please?" Rancis begged. _**Please**__._

Taffyta looked him in the eyes. Her eyes still stung from crying earlier, and fresh tears were beginning to flow once again. "Are we really that useless?"

"We're not useless.." Rancis said as he took a seat next to her, "We'll be here to take care of them when they get back."

"So we **are** useless," Taffyta said frustratedly. _Don't sugarcoat it._

"Only in a fight," Rancis insisted as he hugged her from the side, "We'll all get through this, okay?"

Taffyta sighed deeply. _I wish there was something we could do.. _"Fine.." She placed her hand against his cheek. "I just don't want to lose anyone."

"We won't.." Rancis said reassuringly, "Come on, let's get your face cleaned up." He stood up and extended his hand.

"What are you, my mother?" Taffyta asked and chuckled sadly before allowing him to help her up.

"Not quite," Rancis said. _This is one hell of a mess, Jet.._

They got washed up and reluctantly went to sleep.

* * *

"I have that attitude for good reason," Calhoun said sternly, "Do you even realize the kind of trouble you caused?"

"For good reason," Gary said matter-of-factly, "Change isn't easy."

"You're not helping your cause at all," Calhoun said, "If you want the Good Guys to stop viewing Bad Guys as criminals, it would help if you stopped acting like one outside your game."

"I don't act like a criminal," Gary said defensively, "What are you getting at?"

"What are you, **thick**?" Calhoun asked, "Spying, stalking, transmitting a private meeting. None of those things translate into non-criminal activity." _Are you really that blind to it?_

"I.. I just do what is necessary.." Gary said hesitantly, "I'd better go.." He turned around to walk back to his game.

"Yep," Calhoun said flatly.

"Jeepers.." Felix said, "Today has been a mess.." _Going higgledy piggledy breaking up fights and healing people.. Saving Jet's life.. Tomorrow will be even harder._

"You can say that again," Calhoun said plainly.

"Let's go home," Felix said with a sigh, "We can figure all this out when the arcade closes."

"Alright," Calhoun said.

* * *

"Is there.. something the matter?" King Candy asked as he entered the castle's throne room after hearing them argue.

"Dad!" Vannie said, "Help us out here.. Ham-hands wants to go after this bad guy and he won't let us help him.." _I realize how ridiculous that sounds now.._

"What? Who's this bad guy you speak of?" King Candy asked as he narrowed his eyes, "I won't allow you to be put in danger, young lady. I'm with Ralph on this one." _I taught you better than this._

"That's not fair, Candy man!" Vanellope protested. _He __**would**__ take Ralph's side. What wer__e you thinking, Vannie?_

"Thank you!" Ralph said, "It's a kid, but he throws acid at people. There's no way I could let them come."

"That's quite troubling.." King Candy said, "What is his name?" _I'll be having none of that here._

"Uh.. Charley Chuck," Ralph said, "Yeah, that's it." _Good thing I paid attention._

"Charley Chuck," King Candy said as he walked towards the curtain behind his throne, "Charley Chuck. Charley Chuck. He won't be getting into this game, I can tell you that much." _Like I'd allow that to happen._ "I'm sorry girls, but it's simply too dangerous. I'm not even happy about Ralph going. But if anyone can handle this situation I imagine he can." _After saving the other Sugar Rush I have no doubt in my mind he can set this right. Besides it's a kid._

"Exactly," Ralph said, "You've got nothing to worry about. It's not like I'm going in alone. Felix and Calhoun will be there with me. And I imagine we'll have both Ashley and William with us. They've got their force field thing. You saw what that thing can do. Gary will be there as well probably. I think we've got it under control." _Is there anyone I'm forgetting about? I don't think Jet, Crumbelina, Taffyta and Rancis will be coming along either.._

"Now you three should be headed for bed," King Candy said sternly, "I'll hear no more from you girls about helping him chase villains." _I guess Vanellope is sleeping over here tonight._

Vanellope grumbled to herself about how he's not her father.

"I don't want to hear it, Ralph," Vannie said, "I don't like it a bit.. But I'll stay out of this one. You'd better come back. Come on Vanellope, let's leave him alone." _I'm sorry, Ralph.. I'm just mad right now._ The two left and headed to Vannie's room.

"Man.." Ralph said as he went to his guest room. _What am I going to do? At least I don't have to worry about protecting the girls in there.. Felix can jump around thanks to his years of experience. He's even trained under Splinter for a while.. Calhoun has her armor, I don't know if acid would eat that away or not.. But she's got guns.. Well, we should probably avoid killing the guy at least though. Gary is a ninja. The surge protectors have their force fields. But what am I going to do? Sure I've got the strength, and I may be able to avoid those acid balloons from a distance.. but I'm a close-range fighter._

Ralph silently continued pondering his role in tomorrow's hunt for a while and went to sleep, forgetting to turn off the light. He nearly drifting off to a deep sleep when he was startled awake by a knock at his door.

* * *

"I really want to go," Vanellope whined, "Ralph is a close-range fighter. He's at a big disadvantage." _I could have helped him overcome that._

"I know," Vannie said as they slowly walked into her room, "But he'll be fine. I just don't want to be away from him."

"Me too," Vanellope said sadly, "Hey who are they?" She looked over to the picture on Vannie's dresser.

"Oh.." Vannie said hesitantly, "Those were my parents.. Don't you recognize them?" _I wish she hadn't seen that.._

Vanellope walked over to the dresser and jumped, carefully picking up the picture. As soon as she touched the picture the memory encoded into it flared into her mind.

* * *

It was a bright and sunny day. Vannie had just turned 9 years old that day. She was happily riding along with her parents, headed to the land of Adrenaline Rush chatting about how she can hardly wait to learn how to drive a kart in a few months with the other soon-to-be racers. She didn't have her trademark candy decorations in her hair, though her hair was still done up in a high ponytail.

"You're going to **love** it Vannie," Vincent von Schweetz said happily, glancing back at her. He had auburn colored hair and a five o'clock shadow. The crown atop his head bounced excitedly as they drove along the Hershey Highway.

"You'll be the greatest racer ever once we're through with you," Penelope von Schweetz said proudly. She had long black hair tied into a ponytail with candy decorations placed randomly, just like her daughter later would.

"I can't wait to show you what I've got," Vannie said excitedly, "I'll come home with the **biggest** trophy you've ever seen!" She spread her arms wide for dramatic impact.

Vincent laughed, looking back at Vannie warmly, "I can't wait to see it.. If it's you, **anything** is possible."

Vincent didn't see it in time to stop, but there was a large road block at the end of the bridge where construction was underway. The kart slammed into the road block **hard**. Penelope died instantly, having hit her head on the windshield. Blood oozed out of a gash in her forehead slowly. Vincent managed to survive for a few moments. Luckily, Vanellope was unharmed as she noticed in time to brace herself against the marshmallow seat behind her mother.

"Mom! Dad!" Vannie screamed as she got up from her seat, desperately trying to wake her mother. _No no no.. This can't be happening._

"Vannie," Vincent said weakly with a look of horror on his face.

"No.." Vannie said as tears streamed down her cheeks, "Dad, stay with me. We'll be **okay**. We just need to get to a hospital.." She trembled as she tried to wake up her mother again. "No.. Don't do this to me.. Mom, wake up.." She sniffled. _Please.._

"Vannie," Vincent said weakly as he swallowed hard, "I'm sorry.. I won't be able to teach you how to drive after all.. But you're a strong girl. You'll make us proud, I **know** it."

"Dad.." Vannie said, wiping tears from her eyes, only to have more tears take their place, "Please don't die.." _If I lose both of you.._

"I'm sorry.." Vincent said, using the last of his strength to give her one last hug, "I love you.."

"I'll show you, Dad.. Mom.." Vannie sniffled as she held onto her father's lifeless body, "I'll be the greatest racer ever!" She sat there until help arrived, sobbing quietly. _I'll show you.._

* * *

Vanellope gasped from the shock of receiving this new memory and nearly dropped the picture as she lost all her strength and dropped to her knees.

"No.." Vanellope said, her eyes filling with tears, "That's too cruel.." _That's not fair at all.._

"Hey, hey," Vannie said knowingly, "Come here. It'll be alright." _I wish I could have warned her in time.. _She hugged Vanellope tightly.

"They died.." Vanellope cried as she pulled herself closer into Vannie, "Why?" _I want to see Ralph.._

"It's.. It's just our backstory sweetie," Vannie said as she picked her up, "You want to go see Ralph?"

"Yeah.." Vanellope said while nodding, "He makes everything better." _That's why I made him my new dad in the first place.._

"Let's go," Vannie said softly. _It hit her pretty hard.. I'll get dad to.. I don't know.. I wouldn't want it to be deleted from my memory, even though it hurts. It's the only thing I have of them. I'll ask her about it tomorrow.._

Vannie carried Vanellope over to the room Ralph was sleeping in and knocked on the door.

"Huh?" Ralph could be heard asking through the door. There was a soft thud as he got up out of the bed to answer the door. "What happened?" he asked softly, motioning for them to come in.

"She just remembered her original parents," Vannie said, tears in her eyes, "It's.. not a pretty memory.." _I wish I didn't get an urge to pick it up every time I went into my room. Reliving it every single day.._

"They died," Vanellope said then glitched into Ralph's chest, forcing him to catch her before she fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry," Ralph said as he gently stroked her back, "You want to sleep in here with me?" _I haven't seen her like this since I broke her kart..  
_

"Yeah.." Vanellope said sadly, tears still streaming down her face.

"Alright, come on.." Ralph said softly, "Y-you can too, if you want to, I mean.. I'm sure Vanellope would appreciate that."

"Uh huh," Vanellope said before sniffling again. _I do still have a mom and dad.. I do.._

They turned out the lights and went to sleep, with Vanellope snuggling up against Ralph.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I cried writing the end of this chapter. I'm not ashamed to admit it.


	37. Chapter 37

"Hey kid," Ralph said as he slowly shook the sleep off, "How you holding up?" He gently slid her hair out of her face. Unlike what he had come to expect, Vanellope was awake, but stayed in bed next to him quietly. _It can't be easy __for her __remembering her parents only to remember __that __they died.. I never even knew __**my**__ parents. Perhaps that's for the best __though__._

Vannie woke up, but stayed silent.

"I'm fine.." Vanellope said somberly, "Ralph. Would.." She took a breath and closed her eyes for a moment. _I was always afraid to ask__ this.__. __He wouldn't have taken it seriously__. __But after that stupid memory.. _"Would you be my dad?" She looked at him pleadingly, her eyes still glassed over with tears. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in anticipation of his answer.

Ralph sighed. _Aren't I already by this point?_ "It's not that I would mind," Ralph said, "I already do see you as my daughter in fact.. But what about King Candy? He's supposed to be your adoptive dad, right?" _I can't just ignore his feelings._

Vanellope shook her head no and asked, "Didn't I already tell you?" _I'm glad he feels that way __about me__.._ "He's a nice guy and all, but I just can't accept it.. Even though none of it was his fault, there are too many bad memories.. Besides, he's always busy doing something, and you're always here for me. It only makes sense." _We can be happy.._

"Alright," Ralph said sweetly, yet seriously, as he wiped away her tears with one of his over-sized fingers, "I can see you've made up your mind on it.. I don't really think anything will change, but I can accept that duty." He smiled. "But I don't expect you to call me Dad. Please, just Ralph is fine." _I never expected I would have a daughter someday.. __S__orry, King Candy. __It's what she wants that matters here__._

Vanellope laughed and asked, "What about Big Daddy?" _Oh, I could call him Mr. Bubbles now!_

"Very funny," Ralph said.

Vannie softly stroked the back of Vanellope's hair. _That's sweet Ralph. I guess I can stop pretending I'm asleep now._

Vanellope rolled over to face Vannie and said, "Morning." _You know what that'll make __**you**__, right?_

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Vannie said somberly, "It's not so easy for me either." _But it's the only way I can ever see them, so it's hard to avoid._

"They were nice," Vanellope said solemnly, "They loved you a lot, I can tell." She sighed. "But they were your parents, not mine.." _We just got through teaching Ralph we're not the same person. I can't go stealing other peoples' memories no matter how similar we are. Especially one in which two people die in front of me. I don't want that.._

"We can have my dad remove it for you if you want," Vannie said, "The memory, I mean.." _I guess she has a point.. She didn't even recognize them until she touched the picture. The backstory for 'Vanellope Von Schweetz' must not have been finalized when the first Sugar Rush came out.. She shouldn't be forced to carry that memory __just because I am__._

"I'd appreciate that," Vanellope said sheepishly, "It wasn't meant for me."

* * *

Jet woke up in a cold sweat, having dreamt about the events that happened earlier in the day. He relaxed after realizing where he was. He was laying on his back with Crumbelina draped over him contentedly. _She must be having a good dream.. I shouldn't wake her up, __b__ut I need to talk to King Candy.._ He carefully tried to pry himself away from her without waking her up.

"I'm awake," Crumbelina said as she looked up at him with a shy smile, which made him stop in his tracks and relax back into the bed. _Where were you going? _"Did you sleep well?"

"About as well as you can expect, I guess," Jet said with a smile. _I'd like for this to last forever, if possible.._

"Are you about ready to go talk to King Candy?" Crumbelina asked, "We should have enough time." _I'm still going with you._

"Yeah.." Jet said, "We shouldn't put it off.." _I haven't even eaten since yesterday though.. It's a good thing I don't actually have to worry about starving to death. I can just suffer through it for a while._

"Oh, I'd better get changed," Crumbelina said as she got up suddenly, realizing she was still in her pajamas, "Don't you dare go anywhere without me." She grabbed a set of clothes from her dresser and ran to the bathroom to change. _There's no way I could get changed in front of him. Well.. _She blushed at the thought. _At least not yet.._

Jet sighed. _How am I going to get her to not come along to Dragon's Lair? I wonder if William looked into it yet.._

* * *

"Leon~.." Minty said lovingly, "Are you going to sleep all day?" She ran her fingers along his chest. _Yeah.. _She smiled. _Definitely made the right decision._

Leon woke up in a content stupor and mumbled, "I could get used to waking up like this."

Minty laughed and said, "Me too.. I hope your friends aren't too worried that you never showed up."

"Nah, it's fine," Leon said, "I'll just make up some excuse saying I fell asleep somewhere." _It's right in line with how things used to be, so it should be believable enough._

"You could just tell them you spent the night here," Minty said with a wry smile, "Or would that cause problems with the boss lady?" She laughed. _It's not like he needs to hide our relationship or anything._

"It's not so much that," Leon said trying to be somewhat serious, "I just thought that it would be um.. imprudent of me to reveal such a thing." _Like I'd just walk in and say 'Hey guys, by the way I just got laid and stayed the night at her place, sorry I'm late.' I have a bit more honor than that._

"I guess that makes sense," Minty said as she pinched his nose shut, "You should probably hurry though. We don't want you to lose your new clothes already by not having enough time to get changed." _Although it wouldn't really take that much effort to get him another set._

"Oh!" Leon said as he sat up sharply, "That's a good point." He got up and felt a soft, cool breeze against his skin. _Let's see.. underwear, got it right there.._

Minty laughed and said, "It's like a scavenger hunt, isn't it?" _I wonder where I threw __**my**__ clothes.. Well I've got spares anyway so it doesn't matter._

Leon laughed and said, "Yeah."

* * *

"Good morning, Tammy," Felix said with a goofy smile. He was laying in bed next to her as if he didn't have a care in the world. _Better make the most of this while we can. When the arcade closes it's nothing but serious business._

"Morning, Junior," Calhoun said with a smile.

"Ain't nothin' junior about my dick, ma'am," Felix said teasingly. _This is the only kind of occasion it's acceptable to have a potty mouth._

Calhoun laughed and said, "You got that right." _If only the boys could hear some of the stuff that comes out of your mouth. _"Think we ought to relieve a little more stress before the arcade opens?"

"You read my mind," Felix said happily.

* * *

Jubileena sighed heavily and said to herself, "I wish I could have gotten more sleep.." _I wonder if Garret got any sleep when he went back home.. It was so.. mm.. distracting._

She cooked her some eggs, sunny side up and ate.

"I guess we'll head back to Taffy's when the arcade closes.." Jubileena said to herself again. _I __suppose__ I'll pick out something red, as usual. __I wonder what kind of swimsuit Garret will pick out.. Gah.. stop thinking about that already.. _She blushed. _I don't need another cold shower already. What's wrong with me?_ She laughed. _It doesn't help that it was rubbing up against me when I was sitting in his lap._

"I think I'll go visit Minty," Jubileena said to herself yet again. _I need to stop talking to myself._

* * *

Somewhat later.

Garret sighed as he sat in the Mess Hall of Hero's Duty. He rested his head on his arm in a thoughtful pose. He was wearing his armor, ready for another 'fun and exciting' work day. _Leon never did show up. Knowing him he must've fallen asleep somewhere. Or maybe he went to Tapper's.._

Garret felt a large amount of force hit the side of his helmet which made him nearly fall to the floor.

"There you are," Calhoun said sternly, "Care to enlighten me as to why you and Markowski's radios were off earlier?" _I'll go easy on you since no permanent damage was done._ "We could have used your help with a situation."

"S-sorry ma'am!" Garret said nervously, "W-we were on a date, that's all.."

Calhoun sighed and pushed her hair back, only for it to fall right back into her face. She sat down heavily at the same table, crossed her arms and asked, "So how did it go?" _I guess that's a reasonable enough excuse. __I wouldn't want to be interrupted by random chatter either. __I still owe Markowski a smack upside the head __though__._

"W-well, they took us shopping for clothes," Garret said, laughing nervously, "Armor is a bit out of style with them. After that we came back here and showed them the town. They even met General Lockload."

"You went shopping?" Calhoun couldn't help but crack a smile, something she tried her best not to do around the soldiers, "What kind of clothes did you get then?" _No good.. Stop smiling Calhoun. You're a professional. We've got business to take care of later. _She managed to recover her usual seriousness.

"We can show you later," Garret said happily, "We were hoping you could make it part of our profiles so we don't have to worry about losing them." _She's certainly __in a good mood__._

"I'll think about it.." Calhoun said, "So where's your partner in crime?" _Lately th__o__se two have been practically joined at the hip._

* * *

Rancis woke up before Taffyta again, gladly continuing the habit he was forming. _She's cute when she's asleep too. _He smiled. _I'm __**so**__ glad she moved in._

"Well are you just going to stare at me all morning?" Taffyta asked with a laugh after waking up. _I'm still not satisfied I don't get to help catch the little runt.. But there's no way he'll get away with so many people going after him. Everything will be fine.._

"Want a kiss then?" Rancis asked teasingly and puckered his lips like a fish.

Taffyta laughed and said, "Eww. Not like that!"

"Okay, then how about this?" Rancis asked as he got serious and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"I.. could live with that," Taffyta said with a smile. _I shouldn't let myself fall into his pace __like this__.. _"So since we're going to be useless together today, what do you think we should do?"

"Well.." Rancis said, "You said you wanted to hang out with Candlehead and Jubileena, right? Why don't we see if they have anything planned?" _I need to try my best to keep her in a good mood.. She's been getting too depressed lately._

"Sounds like as good an idea as any," Taffyta said with a sigh. _I hope we don't ruin __**their**__ day being useless around them._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so the poll results are in, and 3 out of 6 want Jet to be able to fight, while 2 want him to go along but still require protecting, and one doesn't want him to go since he's not a fighter.. So I'll just do what I can about that.. He'll go, and he'll still need protecting occasionally, but he'll have some fighting capability. I suppose that's as good a compromise as any, right? One vote was a guest vote in a review in case anyone noticed there were only 5 votes on the poll page.

About Vanellope getting rid of that memory.. I just can't see her wanting to keep it after all they've said about them being two different people, you know? It would kind of contradict the whole lesson Ralph was taught at the end of 'A Sudden Surge'.


	38. Chapter 38

"Comi~ng!" Minty said excitedly as she ran to answer the knock at her door, "Hey, Jujube! Come on in." She laughed.

"You're in high spirits as usual," Jubileena said with a smile.

"Ah," Minty said with a laugh, "I guess you could say that." _Probably not the best idea to say why, going by what Leon said. _"So what brings you here to my humble abode?"

"Boredom, I guess," Jubileena said with a smile. _Hopefully keeping Minty company will keep my mind off of __things__._

"So how are things going with Garret?" Minty asked.

"T-they're going good," Jubileena said with a hint of embarrassment. _You're doing the opposite of helping. I need a distraction, not to talk about it._

"That's great!" Minty said happily, "Things are great with me and Leon too. He just left a while ago." _Oops? Oh well._

"Ah. Oh. Oh.." Jubileena said as she mentally worked through what Minty just said, "I'm.. I'm glad to hear that things are going so well." _Did they already..? Well I'm sure it was probably her idea anyways, knowing how affectionate she gets._

"Don't tell Leon I said that, okay?" Minty asked before shaking her head, "No, you wouldn't have done that even if I didn't say anything. Forget I said that." She laughed nervously.

"S-so have you eaten?" Jubileena asked, "I figured we could head to the track together."

"Yeah, I ate already," Minty said happily, "You looking forward to later?.. Oh, or did you change your mind? I was wondering about that, but almost forgot."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," Jubileena said with a smile, "I'm just a bit.. nervous today I guess." _Nervous isn't exactly the right word I guess._

"It'll be great!" Minty said, "Don't worry so much. You worry too much. Like, way too much." She laughed.

"Ha ha," Jubileena said, "Alright, let's get going then."

* * *

"So do you think you could do something about it?" Vannie asked King Candy after having explained what happened.

"Of course, but.. Are you sure that's what you want?" King Candy asked Vanellope, "Once it's gone, it's gone, you know." _Well, outside of picking up the picture again I guess.. Odd how that works.. I wonder if that can be re-purposed for something more useful.._

"I'm positive," Vanellope said seriously, "They were nice people and everything.. They really were.. But I don't want to remember them as my parents. They weren't."

"O-I.. I see.." King Candy said hesitantly, "Well that's debatable.. But if that's what you want, then I can do that for you.. You'll likely still have some residual traces of the memory now.. I would have to do a lot more digging to catch every little reference to it. Like knowing that you saw the memory, conversations tied to it, like this one.." _I'd really rather not have to do anything that extensive. Removing a single file is much easier than worrying about every little connection._

"That's fine, just the main one going is enough," Vanellope said. _I'd rather remember that Ralph agreed to be my dad, thank you very much._

"Very well," King Candy said with a sigh as he walked off to perform the procedure, "It may take a while.." _It won't take effect until the next time she comes to this game.._ He sighed. _What would you think about all this, Vincent? Penelope?_

"I'd better get back to my game," Ralph said with a sigh, "You too, kid."

"Sure thing, _Dad_.." Vanellope said with a wink, "I'm just messin' with ya. I rather call you Ralph anyways." _I'll save Mr. Bubbles for later. __Haha, I wonder if Sour Bill is worried about me since I didn't go home yet. I'd better hurry.._ _Still wish he'd let me go with him. Grr.. But it's fine.. There's no way he'd lose since he's got Uncle Felix going with him. That has a nice ring to it. _She ran off to Sugar Rush, while Ralph went back to Fix-It Felix Jr.

Vannie stood there in the throne room thinking to herself. _So I guess I'd eventually be her mom. _She laughed at the prospect before heading to the track.

* * *

A few moments later.

"You again," Sour Bill droned, "What is it this time?" _You're making this a habit._

"It's fine," Jet said, "We just want King Candy's advice." _And a favor or two. I hope he doesn't brush them off.. I wonder if the chefs contacted him yet.._

Sour Bill sighed and let them in.

"Jet and Crumbelina wish for an audience with you," Sour Bill droned as he walked to the edge of the code room where King Candy was just leaving.

"Ah, tell them I'll be right with them," King Candy said as he patted him on the head.

"Mmkay.." Sour Bill droned, doing what he was told.

Upon arriving in the throne room where Jet and Crumbelina were waiting, King Candy asked, "How can I help you?" _What is it this time, I wonder?_

Jet explained the situation.

"And so I was wondering if you could maybe.. do that for them.." Jet said nervously, "I know I shouldn't have made any promises, but under the circumstances I just um.. I didn't think it would hurt anything.."

"Yes.. I suppose I could do that," King Candy said with a sigh, "I wonder where would be a good place for that though.. I would hate for it to compete with Cafe DiCaramello.. Oreanna is a fabulous cook." _That 'thank you' meal she made.. Spicy Jill was impressed._

"I.. I didn't even think of that," Jet said guiltily. _Well I don't think it would run them out of business, I mean they don't even take payment.. But they enjoy the work.._

"Don't worry so much about it," Crumbelina said as she patted him on the shoulder. _We're used to not having that many customers since the other racers don't pay me much attention. Which extends to the restaurant. Besides a five star restaurant would probably need reservations.. Maybe.. I don't know. __N__ot worth thinking too hard about it._

"As for your other issue.." King Candy said with a sigh, "Do you really think you have to go to Dragon's Lair? Once you die, you're dead you know.. I forbid **you** from going however, Crumbelina. You're one of our most popular racers, I just can't allow it. It's too risky. Well, that's not to say Jet isn't popular, ahaha.. It's just that.." He sighed. "You know what I'm getting at." _Why does __**everyone**__ in my game want to go after one little Charley Chuck?_

Crumbelina clenched her fists. _Great.. Now I really can't go.._

"I have to.." Jet said solemnly, "I want to help clean up the mess I made. I don't plan on going to my death though.. I have every intention of coming back. I just don't know how I'll manage that yet." _It might be a simple matter of going in and coming out with the guy.._

"I'll think of something," King Candy said, "Just.. Go wait at the track. The arcade will be opening after a while, you know." _Well, he's been in games where it was required he fight.. Maybe I can work something out with that.._

Crumbelina blew off steam complaining the whole way to the track, basically boiling it down to "You'd better come back."

* * *

Leon tripped as he ran into the Mess Hall of Hero's Duty, having only just got back and changed into his armor. He stood up quickly acting as if nothing happened despite a few of the other soldiers laughing.

"Well, he's here now.." Garret said. _You could have gotten here earlier, you know.. Sarge has been grilling me on this for a while now._

"Who? Me?" Leon said nervously as he sat down. _Great, they were talking about me weren't they. Ah nuts.. Totally worth it though. Just remember the excuse.. Don't volunteer information._

"You smell like Sugar Rush 2," Calhoun said dryly, taking a sip of coffee. _There's no mistaking that __saccharine __scent._

"I.. was just taking in the sights," Leon said nervously. _I should have known.. Maybe I should have taken a shower before getting into my armor.._

"Oh?" Calhoun asked, completely unconvinced, "Where did you visit?" _Liar liar pants on fire. You'll get burned._

"Oh just.. the usual places," Leon said, "I was.. reminiscing about the other day when we caught Jet." _I'm digging myself a hole._

"Were you now?" Calhoun asked, "You're not still mad at him, are you?" _Let's see where this excuse goes._

"N-negatory.." Leon said, "I just um.. well it was the day I met my girlfriend you know.." _She's not buying any of this. Why __is she__ humoring me?_

"I see.." Calhoun said knowingly, "And how are things going between you?" _So you were all sentimental, huh? Right._

"Pretty good.." Leon said, forcing a smile. _Please drop it._

"Markowski.." Calhoun said. _You're a terrible liar._

"Sarge?" Leon asked still forcing a smile. _Please?_

"Markowski.." Calhoun said again placing her head in her palms. _Such a terrible liar._

"S-Sarge?" Leon asked in confusion. _Why do you keep just saying my name? Are you going to drop it or not?_

"Markowski.." Calhoun said as she looked up at him and started laughing, "No.. It's nothing." She continued laughing. _Well that was fun._ She got up and smacked him upside the head with her helmet. "That was for having your radio off.." She raised her voice. "Okay everyone, the arcade opens in a few minutes. Get your butts in gear."

* * *

Taffyta and Rancis ate then went to the track and talked while waiting for the arcade to open.

"Hey Candlehead. Jubileena," Taffyta said with a smile, "What's up?" _Feels a little awkward for some reason.._

"D-don't make a big fuss about it or anything," Jubileena said, "But she prefers to be called Minty now.. Long story." _Well not that long, really. I just really rather not have to explain it._

Minty hugged Jubileena. _Thanks a jillion!_

"O-oh, okay.." Taffyta said, "I'll make sure to remember that." _It's not like we really hang out with Minty Zaki anyway._

"So how have you guys been lately?" Minty asked happily. _Let's all make nice. Jubileena needs to stop worrying so much about being around more than 3 people at a time. I wonder if we should invite her to the beach? Well.. Jubileena might get mad at me if I did that though.._

"Oh.. Alright, I suppose," Taffyta said, "It's been a rough couple of days, but it'll only get better from here." _She would have known I was lying if I said things were going great. I just know it.._

"You feeling okay?" Minty asked while giving her a hug. _In case you need it. And even if you don't.._

"Just a lot going on," Rancis said, "This morning was more than just a little stressful. I don't know if you heard what happened or not.." _Technically it's still morning.. Should I have said yesterday?_ _Anyways.. I__f Taffyta is spilling the beans, the entire bag might as well get emptied._

"Something happened?" Jubileena asked.

"I guess you didn't.." Rancis said, "Jet went out of the game for a meeting with Ralph and almost didn't come back." _Do they even know Ralph?_

"What do you mean 'almost didn't come back'?" Jubileena asked, "Where did he want to go?" _I thought he was going out with Crumbelina.. Did things not work out?_

Taffyta's expression grew pained.. _Don't make me think about it again. Come on, Rancis.._

"No.." Rancis said with a sigh, "What I mean is.. He was almost killed by someone wanting revenge for what happened to their game." _I shouldn't mention it was actually twice, __and __by two different people. They don't need to __know that__.._

"He's **fine** though!" Taffyta said preemptively, "He's over there with Crumbelina. Nothing to worry about." _Just as long as Ralph and the others get that Charley Chuck kid, everything will be fine._

"Is he really okay?!" Minty asked worriedly, "I mean.. Almost dying.." She looked over to him across the track. _Maybe I should check on him later.. __He must be a great guy if Taffyta cares so much about him.._

"He was shaken, of course.." Rancis said, "But he seems to recover fast after stuff like that." _He must have picked that up as he game jumped.._

"Yes, he's fine," Taffyta insisted, "Crumbelina was more torn about it." _Even I was.._ "Come on. This isn't something that we need to worry about anymore, it's being handled already." _Who am I really trying to convince?_

"O-okay.." Minty said reluctantly while fidgeting with a string of her hoodie. _You're worried about him too.. __I hope Jubileena doesn't mind this.. _"W-we were heading to the beach when the arcade closes and were wondering if you guys wanted to come.. Oh, I don't mean the one here."

Jubileena sighed, "She means the one in Hero's Duty. No sugar.." _Kind of wanted it to be just the four of us. I guess I can't blame Minty for wanting to spend time with Taffyta and Rancis after they said all that though.. She'll probably invite Jet and Crumbelina too._

"That sounds fun," Rancis said then looked over to Taffyta. _You wanted to know what we could do today since we're 'useless'. Here you go.._

"Yeah.." Taffyta said, "I don't really have a swimsuit though, since our beach is not really worth swimming in." _So much sugary water.. The stickiness.. No thanks._

Before the conversation could continue for much longer, the arcade opened.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so after this, we'll be heading to Dragon's Lair. Either next chapter or the one after. It depends on how much needs to happen first. Such as Jet talking to Darth Vader and the like.


	39. Chapter 39 - Entering Dragon's Lair

**Author's Note:** So I hear you guys were waiting for Dragon's Lair.. They do finally go in, but unfortunately the chapter just ran longer than I expected it to so I didn't write much of it just yet.

* * *

The arcade opened and closed without much incident. There were a few moments where Ralph 'got stuck' due to being distracted, but every time the same kid called Mr. Litwak over he would be back to normal.

"Let's just go.." Ralph said as the arcade closed and Mr. Litwak left. _A shower can wait until later. I've got some wrecking to do._

"You said it, brother.." Felix said seriously. _The sooner we handle this, the better. Tammy said she'll meet up with us at the gateway._

* * *

"Jet.." King Candy said worriedly, "Now.. I'm sure you must have noticed it earlier.. But you should at least have a fighting chance now, right?" _If it's to protect one of my racers I can do at least this much.._

"Yes.." Jet said, "It's a nostalgic feeling.." _The Force will come in handy.. Not so sure about the daggers from Agent X though. I don't want to kill him or anything.. But I can do this now. No question. _He clenched a fist as if to feel the Force pulsating within him. "You don't have to worry so much now, Crumbelina. I'll be fine."

"Okay.." Crumbelina said in confusion, "I'm missing something. Why don't I have to worry?" _That's good news. Really great news.. But I'd like to know __why__.._

"I can use the Force.." Jet said, "It's an ability set from Star Wars." _Kind of.. It wasn't even part of gameplay so I don't know why it exists, but I won't question it. Just like I won't complain about having this ability even though I don't deserve it. I need something like this if I'm going to not die pretty much instantly._ "Think of it as kind of like telekinesis mixed with um.. some other psychic powers that I never really worried too much about. I can just push away the acid balloons if they come flying at me. That sort of thing."

"Well don't get careless just because of that.." Crumbelina said, "There might be more than just one guy, you know." _At least he should stand some chance though.. That makes me feel a lot better._

"Well.." King Candy said solemnly, "I wish you luck, Jet. This Charley Chuck person may be a kid, but I imagine there has to be more to him than that if he's throwing acid." _Crumbelina is right about there likely being others.. But Ralph is going, as well as a few others, so it should be fine.._

"Alright.." Jet said with a sigh, "I regret that I have to miss the race.." _Two days in a row now I'll have to just sit in the stands and watch when the arcade is open._ "But I'll finish this as soon as I can." He hugged Crumbelina tightly and headed out of Sugar Rush 2 after prying himself loose from her. _I __**will**__ come back.._

As he passed through the gateway, the alarm went off and he was soon greeted by William.

"We would like to see you in Ashley's office," William said, "It concerns Vader." They started walking in the direction of the office. _What will you do? Well, I have a feeling I already know.._

"Oh.. Okay," Jet said, "Is that alarm going to go off every time?"

"For you?" William asked, "Always.. You should understand why."

"I suppose so," Jet said disappointedly, "I don't blame you after everything I've done."

"It's not just that," William said rolling his eyes, "After yesterday's incident it has become clear that you need protection out here." _What are you even thinking? Leaving your game.._ "Wait a minute.. You're not seriously thinking of coming along with us, are you?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Yes.." Jet said, "I'll be fine. I can fight.." _I guess that makes sense too._

"It's your life," William said with a sigh. _Sugar Rush 2 isn't his original game anyways. It should be safe even if he does die. Not that it'd be a good thing if he does end up dying.._

They entered the office where Luke, Obi-Wan, and Ashley were waiting.

Jet looked at them trying to hide his shock. _I didn't know they were still alive.. Darth Vader hiding I can understand, but where have __**they**__ been all these years?_

Obi-Wan simply glanced at him while in a thoughtful pose. _Anakin's life hangs in the balance of this man's decision..__ Say something nice Anakin.._

Darth Vader held his breath.

Luke sighed. _This silence is starting to annoy me. _"Right.. So basically what we want to know is what you would have them do with Dad-rth Vader. _Smooth. Shut up.. Can't believe I said that.. This is the guy who took control of me? Looks different.  
_

"R-right," Ashley said nervously, "What he said." _Please don't say kill him.. Well he probably won't. But really.. Please don't._

"So you had him locked up all day?" Jet asked. _What I would have them do with him?  
_

"That is correct," Darth Vader said finally breathing again, "**You** are my judge and jury." _Now, let us see what sentence you give us. Death? Exile? Doubtful._

"Well you're not going to choke me again are you?" Jet asked dryly, "Because I think that'd really suck, you know? Yeah, sure. I may have deserved it a little, but I changed since then for crying out loud." _I'll decide based on his response._

"Sith's honor," Darth Vader said as he raised his right hand non-threateningly.

Jet sighed and shook his head, placing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. _Why even say that? _"Well look.. I'm not going to say anything bad about you. Just don't attack me and we're fine. Let him go. But.. I want you to go to E-Z Livin' with the rest of your guys and have them fix you up. If you walk around looking like.. Well, like Darth Vader, then of course people are going to freak out when they see you. Especially after what you pulled." He tensed up. "So do we have a deal?" _There's no telling he won't 'alter the deal' as it were.. But I'll risk it, why the heck not?_

"What, seriously?" Luke asked with a bemused expression, "Just like that?" _Why E-Z Livin'? Fixed up? Explain it to me I wasn't paying attention._ _Nope._

"Well what else would you do with him?" Jet asked, "Sure the guy tried to kill me, but you know what I did in Star Wars.. Set was the one that got it unplugged, but I still played your role for a few months.. And I'm really sorry about the whole thing. I.. Well we don't really have time to go into it right now. Aren't we supposed to be going to Dragon's Lair?"

"Well what a coincidence," Luke said, "So are we. You can tell me **all** about it." _So this is the guy that took control of you, hmm? Say.. Did you bug him like this too? Lalalalalalalala._ Luke pinched himself hard. "Is there a way to get this guy out of my head? He's annoying."

"I'm afraid I don't follow you.." Jet said, completely confused, "Oh wait, you mean the Luke from the other Star Wars cabinet." _Darth Vader did say something about the other him being in his head.._

"Yes!" Luke said, "The guy **never** shuts up." _Hey, he gets it. And I __**would**__ shut up if there was anything else for me to do in here. I don't even get a hacky sack._

"You can probably get split back up if you go to E-Z Livin' and explain it to them," Jet said, "They mod their game all the time, including their own characters. That's why I said for Darth Vader here to go there in the first place." _It's not __**that**__ bad having voices in your head. It's not like you can't drown them out. Or maybe they can't since it happened differently? If that's the case then ouch.._

"Well we should do that after the matter at hand," Obi-Wan said, "We do have to visit Dragon's Lair, after all." _The solution was there the whole time?__So much headache could have been spared.._

They reluctantly ended up letting Darth Vader out and kept bickering for a while before finally heading to the gateway to Dragon's Lair where Ralph, Felix, Calhoun, and Gary were waiting.

* * *

"Where did Jet go?" Minty asked Crumbelina as she walked up to her, "We were going to invite the two of you to the beach in Hero's Duty. There's no sugar in the water there, can you believe it?" _I wonder where he ran off to though.. __I was most worried about him since he was almost killed.._

"I-I would, but I don't have a swimsuit, sorry.." Crumbelina said, "And Jet had some business to take care of with the surge protectors after an incident yesterday.." _I won't tell them he went to Dragon's Lair.. That'd just make them worry again.._

"Don't worry, Crumbelina," Taffyta said with a smile, "None of us do." _I haven't been shopping for clothes in a while.. Well we've only been plugged in for a few days now, but still._

"So we're going shopping again then?" Garret asked while looking at Jubileena. _So that makes seven of us.. You going to be okay?_

"Would you rather we go to the beach in regular clothes?" Jubileena asked knowingly. _I'll be fine. But y__ou couldn't possibly answer that __question__ with a yes. At least not while being honest._

"You know she has a point, Garret," Leon said with a smile, "Ain't no point in going to the beach if you're not in swimwear." He nodded slowly in a thoughtful pose. _Calhoun is too bright.. I knew I couldn't fool her. At least she did finally drop the subject. She still hasn't seen our outfits yet since she ran off when the arcade closed, but oh well.. She'll see them eventually._

* * *

Vannie disappeared out of Sugar Rush 2 as soon as the Random Roster Race was over and took the monorail to Game Station East. _I suppose I'll go play with Vanellope. It's not like I've got anything better to do._

She got off the monorail and headed for the entrance to Sugar Rush.

"Hey there," a player from Hoop Jamz said in a cheerful voice while holding a basketball under his arm, "I haven't seen you around before. The name's Scott."

"Ah.. Hi, I'm Vanellope Von Schweetz," Vannie said forcing a smile. _Look, I'm sure you're a nice guy and all, but I've got a boyfriend and I'm a little busy. Can you take a hint from the way I said that and just go away? Probably not.._

"That's a beautiful name," Scott said with a smile, "If you're not busy I'd love to invite you out to dinner sometime."

"Sorry, I've got a boyfriend already," Vannie said shrinking back just a little. _Don't get so close to my face please._

"Oh, well alright then," Scott said with a sigh, "He's a lucky man. Later." He wandered off bouncing his basketball, leaving her alone.

"Well that was weird," Vannie said. _I guess Ralph keeps all the __hounds__ away from me. __One more thing to be thankful for._

"Excuse me," a guy from District 51 said in a cheerful voice, "I couldn't help but notice you're alone. My name's Jesse. If you'd like we could go game jumping for a while.

"Sorry, I've got a boyfriend already," Vanellope said._** Shoo!**_

"Oh.." Jesse said as he turned awkwardly and walked away.

"Geez!" Vannie said to herself and ran the rest of the way to Sugar Rush. _I need to bundle myself up like a little homeless lady when I'm not with Ralph apparently._

* * *

"Don't look now but there are a few more heads joining us," Calhoun said dryly. _And one of them is the guy that nearly choked Jet.. who is also there. What's up with that?_

"So are we ready to go in?" Jet asked, "Don't worry, I can fight.." _Such skepticism instantly.._

"Oh yeah? Prove it," Ralph said, "I'm not about to let you go in there otherwise." _You'll really die this __time.. Besides, _a_ll of Sugar Rush 2 would want my hide if they knew I let you in._

"Prove it how, exactly?" Jet asked, "I mean, I don't want to hurt anyone unless I've got to." _I'm not about to start throwing daggers around._

"Just show me what you've got," Ralph said while rolling his eyes.

"Okay.." Jet said reluctantly as he raised a hand up and force-lifted Ralph off the ground shakily before placing him back down. "I'm a bit out of practice.." _Should be good enough for now._

Ralph eyed him suspiciously. _Well that was just weird._

"That's my move, you move thief!" Luke said. _That hardly seems fair.__ Seconded._

"I can also throw daggers if I want.." Jet said, "King Candy's idea.. I just want to help clean up the mess I helped make. Come on.." _Daggers would be a last resort.. Those things hurt._

"Yes," Darth Vader said, breathing heavily, "Let us come." He placed an arm over Jet's shoulder. "He's such a swell guy, isn't he?" He laughed and ruffled Jet's hair. _I want to hit him. I won't kill him, but I want to hit him. Not too hard, but hard enough for him to feel it for a while. __Stop that. It's.. disturbing._

They went inside Dragon's Lair at last.

The sky was a deep, cloudy purple. Surrounded by nearly endless amounts of massive thorn bushes was an old, eccentrically designed castle.

"Well this place is inviting," Ralph said. _I bet Sorceress would love this place._

"R-right," Felix said as he crossed his arms nervously, "This place always gave me the jeeps.. Aside from the fact that Charley is here, I recommend that everyone be on guard. This game has a lot of scripted quick time events. That's what the entire game is, in fact."

"What do you mean 'quick time events'?" Ralph asked in confusion, "I've never been here before so you're going to have to run it all by me.." _I wasn't exactly welcome in other games for 30 years, you know.. Well, I was hardly welcome in my own, but that's settled already._

"When playing the game, the player controls Dirk the Daring," Felix said, "Swell guy. A little cocky.. Well anyways, the player has to select which direction he goes in, in order to avoid dying from traps and the like."

"So it's fine if we just dodge out of the way in other words," Ralph said. _Sounds easy enough._

"But you have to be **fast**!" Felix said, "One wrong move and it's instant game over. That's why it's so odd that Charley would be here."

"Hey Mister.." Charley said from behind them, "You didn't die? How come?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry, had to leave it off there, haha.


	40. Chapter 40

"Alright," Crumbelina said after thinking on it, "I just wish Jet could go with us.." _I wish he didn't feel he had to go to Dragon's Lair.._

"He'll come next time for sure," Taffyta said, "It's just bad timing, that's all." _I wonder what he had to talk to the surge protectors about.._

They all went to Taffy's to get swimsuits.

Crumbelina picked a caramel colored bikini, to be covered by a latte colored t-shirt and milk chocolate colored shorts. "I wonder if we should get something for Jet. Yeah, probably should.." _That way we don't have to come back for next time. He __**is**__ coming back._

Taffyta got a pink and teal swirled bikini and topped it off with a white t-shirt with a large strawberry on it and pink shorts. "Oh, I'll help you pick something out." _Brown or blue?_

"I think blue suits him best," Rancis said, joining them in picking something out for Jet. _Brown does too, but I wear brown. Best to have variety._ He had picked out a peanut butter colored t-shirt and milk chocolate colored swim shorts. _I can't wait to see her in that bikini._

Minty chose all mint green colored stuff. The t-shirt had little chocolate chip designs on it. "Oh that looks cute Leon!" she said with a smile. _They're skulls, but surprisingly cute.._

Leon had picked out a grey tank top and black swim shorts with cartoon skull patterns. "Yours is cuter," Leon said with a smile as he pulled her into him and kissed her lightly. _I just can't resist.._

"Save it for later, you two," Jubileena said embarrassedly, "How does this look, Garret?" She was holding up a red and maroon swirled bikini. She had already picked out a black t-shirt with giant pixelated Pac-Man cherries on it and crimson shorts. _They are not helping me keep my mind off of that kind of thing. And now I'm putting thoughts into Garret's head, aren't I? I just can't get away from it.  
_

"Oh that's nice!" Garret said excitedly, "It's perfect if you ask me." _Especially once it's on.. But for crying out loud, settle down Leon. Sarge would have a fit.. A laughing fit.. _He had chosen a plain white t-shirt and camouflage swim shorts.

* * *

"Hey Vannie!" Vanellope said happily, "I was just thinking about going over there." _I was hoping to get this stupid memory out of my head while I was at it. It's hard to ignore._

"Oh.." little Taffyta said with a smile as she walked over to Vannie and gave her a hug, "I know who you are immediately.." _I'm almost more happy to meet big Vanellope than I was when I met myself._ "Why don't we all play together, Vanellope? We haven't had a chance to in a while. Not counting races." _Ralph is awesome, but we hardly ever get to see Vanellope when the arcade is closed._

Vannie laughed and asked, "What kind of game did you guys have in mind?" She looked around seeing little Rancis, Minty and Jubileena.

"Well I was thinking something along the lines of hide and seek," Rancis said with a smile, "Or maybe we could go to Diet Cola Mountain and tell ghost stories." _Taffyta would probably kill me if I gave big Vanellope a hug too._

"..H-how about we check out one of the other games?" little Jubileena asked with a shy smile. _I said it.. Candlehead made it sound so easy when she said 'just speak your mind'. I hope they don't think it's a stupid idea.. And I hope Taffyta isn't mad Candlehead started playing with me more than her.._

"Hey, that sounds like a good idea!" little Minty said excitedly, "I wonder what kind of game though?" _You did good Jujube! I got your back._

"Hmm.." Vanellope said thoughtfully, "Well.. Why don't we do this. We can go play hide and seek in the House of the Dead." She had a devious grin on her face. _It should be safe considering the fact that Zombie is a pretty cool guy._

"What?!" little Taffyta asked in shock, "But but but Vanellope, that game has all those monsters in it. Isn't that like way too dangerous? Think of the children.. Us!" _I don't wanna die, you know?!_

"You never met Zombie?" Vanellope asked with a laugh, "He's best friends with King Candy. It'll be fine. It's just for the atmosphere. It's completely safe.

They talked for a while finally deciding to go along with Vanellope's idea but made a quick stop at Burger Time for a meal.

* * *

Jet turned around fast. The very presence of this small child, no more than 8 or 9 years old, was enough to chill Jet to the bone. _That freaked me right the hell out. Calm down. Calm down._ "That's a secret." _It's best not to give away our abilities.._

"Well we can always try again," Charley said as he pulled a water balloon out of nowhere.

William rolled his eyes and placed a force field around him. _Did we even need so many people for this?_

Charley laughed and faded out as if he were a glitch. He faded back in about a foot away and said, "Hey Mister, you didn't think it would be that easy, did you? Let's play a game, come on. It's called Dragon's Lair. Because well, we're in Dragon's Lair that's why. I'll be waiting at the end so don't die until then, okay?" He faded out again.

"O-okay.." Felix said nervously, "So this may be a bit difficult.. I'll try to tell you exactly what to do as best I can.."_What did we get ourselves into? __I haven't been in here in a long, long time.._

"I'll scout ahead," William said, "It's not like **I** have to worry about a game killing me." Before anyone could think of arguing, he zipped ahead into the castle.

"H-he'll be fine," Felix said, "Now there's a hole that forms in the bridge up ahead. These purple tentacle things with an eye at the end of them pop up and try to grab you." _What else? There's no time to think in this game once you've started.._

"What manner of game is this?" Darth Vader asked in disbelief, "That is ridiculous." _It would be unwise to interrupt the only person who has been in this game._ _Why did we even come along?_

"Oh!" Felix said while standing in front of them and urgently signaling for them to stop, "Wait.. I almost forgot that this is obviously meant to be played by one person, so it's going to be really difficult going forward. These quick time events are unforgiving even for one person, there's simply not even room for all of us to stand. How are we going to do this?" _We may have to break a few rules.._

"How about I climb the building and wreck us open another entrance?" Ralph asked while cracking his knuckles. _Something I can do.. _"I suggest we go off the standard path. Where these events aren't scripted to happen.."

"He's got a point," Calhoun said, "It sounds like there's just no other way to go about it. The problem will be getting to this other entrance though won't it." _He does get a good idea every now and then. Even if there are still flaws in it._

"Well, I'm no expert with it.." Jet said, "But we've got four force users here, we can levitate each other to this new entrance.." _At least I wouldn't have to worry about being tasked with lifting Ralph again since he'll already be there._

* * *

Meanwhile in the code room of Dragon's Lair.

"You see this, Mom? Dad?" Charley laughed, "They're smarter than they look, huh?" He was watching Ralph and the others on a pop-up screen. "I have a feeling this will be good." He took a sip of Tapper's root beer then let it float next to him. He had brought one with him one day to copy for whenever he was thirsty.

"Careful, they'll be here in no time at all," a man with brown hair just past his ears said. He wore an off-white long sleeved shirt with a black vest, and dark blue pants.

"Nah, it'll be fine," Charley said with a smile, "I've got a few surprises planned all the same. I'll just add a few monsters wherever they enter. That'll slow them down if it doesn't kill them."

* * *

"Just keep everything off me, got it?" Ralph said nervously, "I don't need tentacles or anything like that pulling me down." _I can just wreck them if they try, but I'd rather not risk it all the same._

"S-sure thing!" Ashley said. _I feel so useless.. Where did William even go? He's probably still going on the original path.. Come on Ashley focus! You can't get distracted at a time like this.. Just watch for any suspicious movement._

Ralph began climbing the building and purple tentacles with eyes came from a hole that formed on the bridge just behind him. Ashley put a force field around them.

"These aren't sentient," Felix said confidently, "It's.. It's **okay** to kill them. This is their game anyways, they'll regenerate when they're supposed to."_ Even I killed them back when Dirk let me have a run of the place all those years ago. Of course he had to lend me his sword.. A magical hammer that fixes things won't do much damage. _He fought the urge to shake his head at how little offense he could manage otherwise. _It's a miracle I didn't get myself killed that day. I swore I'd never come in here again, and yet here I am.._

"I heard you loud and clear," Calhoun said with a smile as she drew her pistol, "I'll take it from here Ashley." _Finally something to do._

Ashley reluctantly released the tentacles from her force field and Calhoun happily opened fire.

"So where's the lair at?!" Ralph screamed from the top of the building, "I'd like to get us as close as possible if you don't mind."

* * *

"Alright, let's go!" Minty said excitedly as the group left Taffy's in their new outfits, with their others in bags, "I can hardly wait to get there." _I wonder what else might be in Hero's Duty. What goes with beaches? Volleyball? _She laughed.

"Right this way," Leon said with a smile as he bowed and gestured with a hand.

"Don't get too full of yourself now Leon," Garret said with a laugh. _Minty is really rubbing off on him._

They went to Hero's Duty and chattered along the way.

"So then he lost his balance and landed on two of the Cy-bug eggs and made them hatch," Jubileena said with a laugh, "We thought we were going to die so we just ran to their armory and left him in the dust." _It's funny thinking back on it._

"Hey, come on," Leon said with a nervous laugh, "I can't help it if I have a minor case of insectophobia.. And besides, I killed them just fine after that." He stood proudly. _But that skin crawling sensation is urgh.. So gross._

"It's alright Leon," Minty said knowingly, "I would have reacted the same way. Well, minus being able to kill them.." _Why'd Jujube have to bring that up? That was kind of mean even if it is a little funny._

Leon sighed, "But I was pretty cool before that when I figured out how to fix the mess Set left behind." _It was all luck figuring out how it worked though._

"What kind of damage did he do?" Crumbelina asked hesitantly. _Jet wouldn't know.. Maybe I can tell him about it later.._

"Well aside from what they did to me, Garret and Loya," Leon said seriously, "He also modified the Cy-bugs to make them go haywire if he ever went more than a few days outside the game. Sarge found and fixed that before it became a problem right away though." _It's a good thing she decided to poke around the files once the dust settled._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'd have made the chapter longer but I just didn't have the time today, sorry. It's not that short anyways, though it may feel like that to some.

Please follow/favorite and leave a review. It really boosts my motivation knowing that people like the story :).


	41. Chapter 41

Leon and the others finally made their way to the beach in Hero's Duty and set up towels and the like, which they had almost forgotten to get.

"You know," Jubileena said, "This game may be super creepy, but this place here is surprisingly beautiful." The area had a perpetual sunset that shone brightly against the crystal clear water.

"See?" Garret asked with a smile, "This game isn't all bad." _I wonder if there's anything else worth finding in this game.._

"Of course not!" Minty said matter-of-factly, "You guys came with it after all." _We'd be so bored without you guys. I don't want to think of an arcade without Leon in it._

Leon chuckled and said, "That's not quite what he means.. But I'm glad you feel that way." He slid his arm around her waist. _Maybe I **should** tone it down a bit though.. She just makes it so hard.  
_

Taffyta took a picture of them, smiling innocently and said, "You two are cute together." _Totally going to hang this on a wall at home._

"I know, right?" Minty said happily, "So how has your mom been, Taffyta? It's been too long since I last saw her." _It seems likes he's never at her store either. I wonder how that picture looks.. I might have to get her to delete that, haha.  
_

"She's good," Taffyta said, "She's been busy visiting Dad overseas. She'll hopefully be back in a few days." _No idea where she really goes though. There is no real 'overseas'._

"Overseas?" Garret asked, "Just how big is Sugar Rush 2?" _I wonder what it's like over there.._

Crumbelina subtly took a deep breath. _I can answer that.._ "I-it's a place called Adrenaline Rush," she said with a shy smile, "If Sugar Rush is the land of sweets, then Adrenaline Rush is the land of meat a potatoes. Well, other foods too. It's where we get all of our non-sweets from, and they get all of their sweets from here.. So the game's history goes anyways. I think they're setting up another game, because the place doesn't really exist here." _I don't understand where Taffyta's mom goes then though, if that's the case. Thinking of going, I wonder how Jet is doing. I hope he's okay.. No, he's fine..  
_

"I wonder what kind of game though," Minty said thoughtfully. _Must be something manly._

"No clue," Rancis said, "Maybe a platformer? That's what our game is originally based off of at least." _That's why there are double stripes and the like._ "Of course it could be some fighting game, judging by the name. Anything that would get the adrenaline flowing." _Something involving meat growing __as__ plants.. I'm at a loss.. Sounds unsanitary, but then again so does our landscape so maybe it's nothing._

"So wait.." Garret said, "Does that mean that everything is food there like everything in Sugar Rush is candy?" _Shouldn't that get pretty rotten?_

"It's best not to think about it too much," Jubileena said while patting him on the back, "It doesn't have to make sense. N-now are we going swimming or not?" _We came to the beach, you guys. Come on. I **can't** be alone in this.._

"Oh!" Garret said as he made a fist and tapped the palm of his other hand with it in a downward motion, "That's a good point, I forgot all about that." _How did I manage that? I'm a patient man, but the lady is __gorgeous._

"I think I'll sit back for a while," Rancis said with a smile, moving to take a seat on a towel under a large beach umbrella. The others except Taffyta took off their extra clothes and ran off to the water.

"You sure?" Taffyta said with a sly smile. She took her shirt off in front of him slowly, exposing her bikini. _If this doesn't get him flustered.._ "I was looking forward to us having some fun." _Oh my User that sounded way dirtier than I meant it to. But that got his attention._

* * *

"Well," Felix said, "I honestly don't know, brother." He shook his head. "You go up and down so many times during the game that it's a bit disorienting. Just bust a way in and we'll work our way around from there." _This is somewhat reminiscent of our game, now that I think about it. Ralph climbs and wrecks the building.. I'll have to fix it once this is all over.. Not a task I look forward to._

"If you say so," Ralph said as he hung onto a brick and smashed down a section of wall. _Uh oh.. _Bats came flying out at him and clung to his face. Disoriented, he lost his grip on the brick and began to fall.

Obi-Wan was the first, but not the last, to raise his hand and slow Ralph's descent and raise him back up to the new entrance as Ralph smashed the bats on his face, making them disappear in a red flash.

"I hate bats," Ralph said as he could feel his blood beginning to boil. _The fall wouldn't __have __kill__ed__ me, but I rather not have to climb up here again._ He dusted off his hands.

"You weren't kidding about this place being a death trap," Calhoun said sternly, "Remind me to avoid this game from now on." _They should have warnings at the entrance of games like this. How many people have come here and died, I wonder?_

"You sure I'd have to?" Felix asked with a confused look on his face. _I think you'd remember a place like this. Oh.. That's what she was getting at. Right.._

"Well it's all clear now!" Ralph yelled before turning around just inside the hole of the castle to see a swarm of bats coming from upstairs. He swatted at them furiously until they were all gone. "Well it's all clear **now**!" _I __**hate**__ bats._

Getting a better look inside, Ralph saw that there were stairs going up and down. He was in one of the towers.

Down back on the ground in front of the castle, Jet was explaining to Luke and Obi-Wan just how sorry he was and that he's glad he survived the unplugging.

"Yeah, well don't push your luck," Luke said, "You may not be such a bad person anymore, but I still don't like you. Not after what you've done. A few nice words and even letting my dad go free won't erase that." _What? I actually do forgive him. If it gets me out of here I'd even give him a pat on the back when it's over.__ How are we __supposed to be __the same person?_

"Luke," Obi-Wan said earnestly with a sigh, "Let us just move on.. It is not so easy to face your past. Especially one as checkered as his. That he is making the effort is good enough for me." _I thought that we could finally put this behind us..__ Yes.. But perhaps that was too optimistic.._

"But Ben.." Luke said in frustration before calming himself down and pacing a while. _Am I seriously being unreasonable here? __You got told._

"I'm not expecting you to be my friend, Luke.." Jet said, "I just wanted to apologize, that's all. For what little good that does.."

"So are you guys coming up here or what?" Ralph asked loudly, having sat down at the hole he made.

* * *

"What do you think, Dad?" Charley asked, "Should I spice things up a bit or let them enter first?"

"Well that all depends, Charley," the man responded, "How much time is left?"

"It **says** 15 minutes," Charley said, "But you know how ETA's go. I never would have expected a password lock on something like this. It makes sense though."

"Well they won't get to the end in 15 minutes from there," the man said, "I think it's safe to at least let them all come inside." He smiled.

"Where'd Mom go, anyways?" Charley asked, "I thought she was in here too."

"She went talk to Daphne and Dirk," the man said, "You know how she gets."

* * *

The Force users took turns force-lifting each other up to the entrance Ralph so elegantly made, since using the Force on oneself is much more difficult than using it on others. Gary just shinnied up the wall as they did this.

Calhoun took her cruiser up rather than trust some invisible force. _It's a good thing I brought this along.._ "So where do we go from here, Felix?"

"I want to say.. down," Felix said, "But be careful, there may still be some scripted events here." _I pray there aren't. But if the bats are anything to go by.._

"So why didn't you tell me to smash open a lower spot?" Ralph asked grumpily. _Really, Felix. I could have smashed the whole building you know. It'd make it that much easier._

"Well I haven't been here in years, Ralph!" Felix said in frustration, "Pardon my outburst.. I have only been here once, and that was years ago. I never would have come back here if something like this hadn't happened.

"Felix, I'm sorry," Ralph said, getting defensive, "Pull yourself together. We need you on your game."

"This one has the right idea," Darth Vader said, "And don't look now, but Gary has already gone downstairs."

"I forgot he was even here," Calhoun said plainly, "He's so quiet." _What I said to him yesterday must have hit him pretty hard.. But someone had to tell him eventually._

* * *

"... and now he's dating Vannie," Vanellope finished explaining to her friends what happened the other day. _That's the gist of it._

"Isn't that a little weird?" little Taffyta asked, "Like, isn't he kind of dating you too then?"

"Eww, no!" Vanellope said dismissively, "We may share the same name and some characteristics, but we're still separate people, Taffyta. I mean the older Rancis isn't dating you, he's dating the older you. See what I mean?"

"I.. guess that makes sense," little Taffyta said while rolling her eyes somewhat and putting a fresh lollypop in her mouth. _It's just a little odd, that's all._

"Besides, Ralph is pretty much my dad now more or less," Vanellope said proudly and crossed her arms, "It's been a long time coming." _The best dad anyone can ask for._

"I guess that'll make me your mom at some point then, won't it?" Vannie said mischievously. _Don't think I didn't notice your plans little miss._ She nudged her shoulder playfully.

"You got it!" Vanellope said confidently while pointing at her. _We're clear on this. __Yes!_

"Right.. So should we go to the House of the Dead now?" little Rancis asked. _This is cute, __but we're getting more than a little distracted here. Hide and seek. Hide and seek. I wonder what kind of place that game is. Sounds spooky, haha._

"Such a party pooper," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes, "Yes, let's go." _I can't believe Taffyta would think Ralph is going out with me, what was she even thinking?_

They left Burger Time and headed towards the House of the Dead, talking along the way.

"So how **did** you get Ralph to be your dad?" little Minty asked. _Wasn't King Candy supposed to be her dad or something? Was that my imagination?_

"I'd rather not get too far into it," Vanellope said with a sigh, "But suffice it to say I just asked him and he agreed." _The less I think about Vannie's parents the better. Though come to think of it she looks a lot like her mom did. Agh, stop thinking about it, you'll cry. I can't cry in front of my friends, come on._

"Are you okay?" little Minty asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"I'm fine," Vanellope said with another sigh, "I'm just a bit tired, that's all." _You're too perceptive about this sort of thing._

"O-okay," little Minty said while looking down, not completely convinced. She fidgeted with her hands. _I shouldn't keep asking I guess._

Little Jubileena extended a hand to little Minty, giving her a knowing smile. _She doesn't mean anything by it, Candlehead. She just doesn't want us to worry._ Little Minty smiled back and took her hand as they walked the rest of the way to the gateway of the House of the Dead.

Little Crumbelina quietly sighed. _Why is it that I can never find anything to say?_

"Cheer up, Crumbelina," little Taffyta said with a smile as she draped her arm over little Crumbelina's shoulder, "You're cooler than I thought you were, you know? I always thought you were just some rich kid, no offense. I feel bad about that.." _That could have come out better.._

"W-we're not that rich," little Crumbelina said, her cheeks flushed from the back-handed compliment, "Do I really seem like that?" _Is it because of the clothes? I just thought it looks good.._

"S-sorry," little Taffyta said, "I just mean.. I assumed you were.. I mean you're always so quiet and we're barely around each other after the races.." _I guess that's what I get for hanging out with just Vanellope, Rancis, and Candlehead most of the time.. _"It's my fault."

"D-don't worry about it," little Crumbelina said. _What brought this up all of a sudden? It's been 15 years.._


	42. Chapter 42

Rancis' interest was definitely piqued by Taffyta's provocation. He raised an eyebrow and said, "What kind of fun do you have in mind?" _I'd like to think I know her enough that she wasn't outright stating we should go out into the water and get it on. But let's tease anyway._

"O-oh, I don't know," Taffyta said, trying to save face by making a thoughtful pose, "How about.." _Brain, this is not a good time for you to take a break.._

Rancis stood up and walked closer to her and said with a smile, "Yes?" _She didn't even think it through, haha. Careful Taffyta, at this rate I'll win this time. Actually I did win, I'm taking my prize before you snap out of it._ He quickly wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her into him and wrapped the other around her shoulder and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"Ahh!" Taffyta screamed happily, "That's not fair, I can't move my arms like this." _What's gotten into you today?_

"Where would you like to put your arms?" Rancis asked as if to gloat about his victory.

"Give me a little room and I'll show you," Taffyta said with a smirk. _If that's the game you want to play, fine._

Rancis loosened his grip around her and gave her room to move. "That better?" he asked lovingly, "You're even more beautiful when you're like this, you know?" _First of all I would like to thank the beach for simply existing. And of course I can't forget about Minty who invited us along.._

"Let me guess," Taffyta said mischievously, "It's because there's less of me covered up." She wrapped her arms around his waist and back. _I'd better go cool off in the water before I embarrass myself further.._

"W-well, there's that.." Rancis said, "But I mean when you're playful like this." He kissed her. "I can't get enough of it." He kissed her again. _We'd better follow them before they wonder what we're doing over here.._

"We'd better hold off until later," Taffyta said playfully as she pried herself away. She took off her shorts covering her bikini bottom and ran off to the water. Rancis happily took his shirt off and followed close behind.

* * *

Gary used his sword to slash a giant bat the size of a person in half at the bottom of the staircase. It had jumped out of the door that until then was closed. It disappeared in a bright purple flash. _Just what exactly is this place?_

In the next room it was as if he were suddenly in a volcano, cracks in the floor glowed bright orange. Several bubbling springs of an unknown colored liquid littered the room. Some a sickly greenish yellow, some a reddish brown. As he walked past them cautiously, flames erupted around him in a wide circle. He was suddenly ambushed by four large reddish brown monsters that seemed to be made of goo. He swung his sword at them uselessly, the blade simply passing through them. _Not good!_ He jumped over one of the greenish yellow springs to get away from them and the fire, with it erupting shortly after.

"What **is** it with this place?!" Gary asked himself. The monsters jumped through the liquid shooting up effortlessly and continued to follow him. He continued jumping over and around the springs. They disappeared at some point after he ran into an opening that resembled a cave mouth, but in reality it led right back into the castle and onto a platform that began to fall. _What now?!_

* * *

William was calmly swinging across ropes that were on fire at the bottom over a flaming pit. _What's the big deal?_ He ran into the next room where he saw a.. "What is that?" he asked himself, "Looks like a mechanical horse.." He looked around the room. There were several suits of armor holding halberds. The horse was on a red carpet with maroon streaks in it, the rest of the floor was bare red stone bricks.

Rather than mess with the horse he decided to walk around hoping to find a door. Several times he zipped away as fire erupted around him. More out of surprise than actual fear.

He eventually came to another door and went through it. He came to what looked like an underground cave, with some kind of purple ravine at the bottom. As he walked closer, the middle of the ledge he was walking along gave way and he fell into a barrel-shaped 'boat'.

* * *

"These guys are good," Charley said excitedly as he looked at two other screens aside from the main one he had been paying the most attention to, "You'd almost think they played this game before." He took a sip of root beer and double tapped on a shortcut he had set up nearby which gave him a burger.

"Careful not to get grease on the files," the man said, still casually floating behind him.

"I know!" Charley said with a laugh, "I've got napkins here."

"I'm going see your mom, don't get into too much trouble in here," the man said.

"I won't!" Charley said happily. _If I only had some __**ice cream**__, this would be perfect._

* * *

"Well he had to have gone through here," Ralph said as they walked through the volcano-looking room. It was almost like walking into an oven.

"Keep an eye out," Calhoun said, "Ah, yep, look over there." She nodded towards eight goo monsters. "We've got company." _Would this thing even work on them? They don't look solid._ She fired a few shots at one of them as they slowly got closer. It had no effect. "Well, I hope someone else has another idea.."

Darth Vader Force-pushed one of them into a green ravine nearby and waited to see if it came back. It didn't.

"Let's do that," Luke said, following his father's example. _You should have tried that from the beginning.__ Shut up shut up shut up. _"Can't you keep that to yourself?" _Oh, not a chance._

"There's an opening over there," Ashley said, "That must be where Gary went." _Why did __Gary__ have to run ahead?_

The goo monsters were made short work of and the rest of the group followed Ashley through the opening.

"Going down?" Jet asked Felix as he looked down into the big pit.

"Y-yes," Felix said, "Normally there would be a platform that falls down several levels, but Gary must have used it already."

"I'm down here, you guys!" Gary said, "You might want to be careful!"

"Yeah? Well no kidding!" Calhoun yelled sternly, "You're one to talk! We're supposed to be here as a group!" _You shouldn't have broken formation if you're so worried._

"I'm not one for standing around, ma'am!" Gary said impatiently, "Doesn't it feel like we're on a bit of a time limit here?!" _I'd rather not continue too far ahead myself, not after those goo monsters._

"Let's just go down," Calhoun said to the rest of them, "I'm not about to continue wasting my breath."

Felix and Calhoun went down using her cruiser while the Force users.. used the Force and helped Ralph as well. Ashley just zipped down.

They went through the door Gary was waiting at.

"What is this, Sugar Rush?" Ralph asked as he studied the room. Several large colored balls rolled back and forth on a large rainbow half-pipe.

They heard a sound behind them and saw that a much larger black ball, almost as large as the half-pipe itself, was following them. They carefully timed their running to avoid the balls as the larger one collided into them one at a time. Jet was pulled away once when one of the smaller balls nearly flattened him.

"T-thanks.." Jet said. _I gotta be more careful.._

"This place is nuts!" Luke said. _I'd like to get out of here right about now.__ Yeah? Well me too._

They jumped over a large crack in the floor which stopped the large ball from following any further and ran into the next room.

There was a thin bridge with spike pits on either side and two spinning 'blades' over the bridge blocking the way, which were more like pugil sticks [see note]. There was a figure at the other side of the room which looked like a grim reaper wearing a red cloak just waiting for them to get closer.

"You're not part of this game, are you?" he asked boredly, "Are you lost? Or are you mad?" _Both? You made it this far, you had to know what you were getting into._

"Don't talk to them, Grim!" Charley said, having projected himself into the room.

"You're not the boss of me, Charley," Grim said, "I don't know what Dirk was even thinking when he let you and the others live here." _Was it pity? A child losing his game.. Must have been pity. But look around.._

"**Finally** someone who can explain stuff around here!" Ralph said, "Excuse me, could you help us out here?" _I never thought we would find someone willing to help. And the kid doesn't like him, even better.  
_

"Don't you **dare**!" Charley said as he stomped his foot down. Several bats flew into the room and attacked them, "This is **my** game now, you understand?! It has been for **years**! I should have fixed you long ago. Where's your file at?.." He disappeared.

Calhoun shot the bats effortlessly and said, "I think we might be in a heap of trouble. He must be in the code room.."

"Code room?" Jet asked curiously, "..I guess that's one of the things that was removed from my memory.." _I'd rather not know, actually.. I'll tell King Candy that I was 'reminded'. The man is probably going to be frustrated that I keep bothering him about things requiring him to mess with files.._

"Break through the floor in the next room if you can," Grim said nervously, "It's a shortcut to the lair, you should hurry." _I knew the kid was nuts, but something is very wrong about all this._ "The floor disappears in sections down there so you have to hurry. GO!" _I'd rather not be 'fixed' if you don't mind. Wish I could move from this spot.._

They looked at Grim for a moment in silent concern. Ralph smashed the spinning pugil sticks and they ran into the next room as thorns grew around them.

* * *

"We should play together more often," little Taffyta said, her arm still draped over little Crumbelina, "How's that sound?" _C'mon, I'll make it up to you._

"T-that sounds like fun," little Crumbelina said. _I always thought she was __an __elitist, so I guess that makes us even.._

"This is it!" Vanellope said excitedly as she gazed at the sign of the House of the Dead.

"Woah there," Alex, Game Station West's surge protector said, "I highly recommend you don't go in there."

"What?!" Vanellope said dismissively, "Come on, Zombie is a good guy. You should know that by now, right?" _Just let us in.._

Alex chuckled and said, "..That may be so, Vanellope," he looked around at the others, "but you see, there are still monsters that don't distinguish friend from foe in there."

Vanellope made nasally sounds mocking what he said. "Like what, exactly?" she asked.

Alex sighed and said, "Well there's these large grub-like monsters called Murrers. And then there's these giant toxic spiders called Thalangs. I just can't let you guys in there, sorry." _If they were capable of defending themselves I **might** look the other way. But kids? No way.  
_

"Is it really that dangerous?" Vannie asked, "Aren't there normal people in there too?"

"Well yes," Alex said, "But they're constantly under attack, you understand.. The zombies are the safest ones there, believe it or not.. What are you planning on doing in there anyways, if I may ask?"

"We were going play hide and seek since it's spooky in there," little Rancis spoke up confidently.

"Why not try Undead Apocalypse 3 then?" Alex asked, "It's got the atmosphere you're looking for. Nothing but zombies and a dark forest." _The zombies are harmless, I made sure of that when I checked it out._

"I-I think we should listen to him," little Jubileena said, "I'm.. I'm not up for high stakes hide and seek." _Toxic spiders? Grubs? No way you're getting me in there._

"Y-yeah," little Minty said fearfully, "I don't wanna die either." _Does anyone? I sure hope not.._

* * *

"What took you guys so long?" Minty asked proddingly with a smile. _Your face is all red. Your face is all red! Kissy kissy.. something something something.. right on the head?.. The tune was fine but the words need work.._

"This water's cold," Leon said as he slowly rose up from underwater. _Wish I had some goggles._ He wiped the water out of his eyes.

"Well get your face out of it," Garret said jokingly as he pushed him back down. _What were you even doing down there?_

Leon rose out of the water again and splashed Garret in the face. He smiled. _That's for dunking me._

"Now, now, you two," Jubileena said jokingly, "Is that any way for two grown men to behave?"

Taffyta splashed all of them at once in a wide sweeping motion and lowered herself into the cold water. _Not answering that question, haha. It was __**s**__**o**__ worth coming here.. I just hope Jet gets back soon._

"Ahh!" Crumbelina said, unable to help but scream as the cold water hit her face, "I didn't even do anything." She splashed her back playfully. _If only Jet were here this would be perfect._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Pugil sticks are what you see gladiators on tv using sometimes. They're kind of like giant q-tips made out of a soft material. They're designed to knock people down but usually not cause damage. In this case it would knock the player through a wall, making you lose a life.

Dragon's Lair is an actual arcade game. You can watch videos of it on youtube if you're interested in getting a better visual than I can offer. The game itself only lasts about 15 minutes or so if you know what you're doing and are flawless, judging by the videos I've seen. It's more like an interactive cartoon though.

Sorry to those of you who wanted to 'see' inside the House of the Dead. The girls (and little Rancis) will be going into Undead Apocalypse 3 instead.


	43. Chapter 43 - Leaving Dragon's Lair

Ralph slammed his fists into the floor in the next room. The floor shook violently around them as it gave way, making them fall into a room with a purple and black checkered floor. The floor slanted backward as they landed harshly.

It was so sudden that they didn't have time to react, they all have various scrapes and fractures from falling such a long distance. Felix quickly hit them all with his hammer, except for Ashley who was fine.

The group ran towards the door, making the floor shift again. They were running so quickly they almost couldn't stop in time to avoid a sudden blast of fire from a torch falling off of the wall.

The 2-dimensional floor started disappearing in blocky sections behind them as Ralph smashed open a door yelling, "Get in!"

It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness of the room. Massive piles of gold coins littered the floor, with other seemingly priceless objects stacked all around Not even an inch of floor was visible through the masses of coins. It was almost enough to take their eyes away from the massive green dragon across the room next to two men and two women.

"This cannot be.." Darth Vader said in disbelief as he recognized two of them.

"Han! Leia!" Obi-Wan said excitedly. _Wait.. Why are they here? __Ready yourself._ His excitement was replaced with apprehension as Han fired shots at them, hitting Jet in the shoulder.

Jet winced and dodged out of the way of several other shots while Luke, Obi-Wan, and Darth Vader used their light sabers to deflect the shots. Felix hopped in a random pattern avoiding shots himself and hit Jet with his hammer to fix up Jet's shoulder.

"You never should have come here," Han said threateningly, "I don't know how you know our names, but if you want to get to Charley you'll have to go through **us** first."

Ashley put a force field around Han. _I wish this worked on a wider area! I hope the others aren't as much of a threat as him.._

"Dirk!" Felix asked desperately, "What's going on here?! Why are you guys protecting Charley?" _Did he rewrite their __memori__es too?_

Dirk stared at Felix for what felt like minutes before saying, "Felix.." He nodded to himself. "Why **wouldn't** we protect him?"

Ralph sighed and said, "Uh.. Well for one thing he nearly killed Jet here yesterday by throwing a water balloon with acid in it at him." _Why does it have to sound so ridiculous when I explain it?_

"And whose fault is that?!" Leia asked, "Do you have **any** idea what he's done to our son?!"

"Yeah!" Daphne said, "All the boy ever wanted was a home. There's nothing wrong with a little revenge against the person who stole everything away from him.."

Charley projected himself into the Lair with his arms crossed, "Come in here alone, Mister.. Since I'm so nice, I'll let you explain why I shouldn't just finish you off now." _One more minute until the code is broken._ "Nice and slow, okay? Drake here will roast you otherwise." He smiled.

"Obvious trap," Gary said.

"Obvious trap," Calhoun said with a nod.

"It's a trap," Luke whispered into Jet's ear. _No kidding._

"What are you planning?" Jet asked. _Well of __**course**__ it's a trap, but at this rate do we really have much choice? The whole place has been a trap from the start._ Charley disappeared as the door to the code room behind him opened. Jet walked into the code room and floated inside.

"This isn't right!" Luke said as he ran towards the code room, only to be blocked by Leia, "Out of the way, Sis." _Leia snap out of it.._

She pushed him backward making him fall off his feet and said, "This is a personal matter. Now I **suggest** that you sit back while they talk, or Drake will turn his attention to **you** instead."

After a minute or so had passed, Han, Leia, and the other characters of Dragon's Lair momentarily glitched into yellow code.

Jet slowly left the room a moment later, alone and pale-faced. Before anyone could talk to him, their attention was brought to Han.

"You guys!" Han said with a smile on his face, "Where have you been hiding? We thought you were dead.. Hey, so what's up with this force field thing?" He put away his blaster.

"You okay, Luke?" Leia asked with a bemused expression as she looked down at him worriedly and helped him up.

"I'm fine.." Luke said confusedly. _Well she's back to normal, I guess..__ Yeah.._

Ashley hesitantly released Han. _Did Jet do something?_

"Jet, are you alright?!" Ralph asked urgently as he and Felix ran to him.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Felix asked, "What happened?" He pulled out his hammer.

Jet shook his head somberly and said, "He wouldn't listen.. He.. started attacking me.. There was nothing else I could do.." He fell to his knees.

"Oh my lands.." Felix said as he peered into the code room. _He's dead?_

"I think I fixed everything.." Jet said, "Seems that way at least.. There were several files bunched up in one place.. Can we get out of here?"

"Y-yeah.." Ralph said somberly, "Let's get you home.." _He must have remembered how to hack games __after going in. King Candy did say some memory traces remain__.._

Jet started crying and said, "I didn't want it to go this way.. It's all my fault he ended up like that.."

Felix opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't find the words.

"Is there.. Something I'm missing?" Dirk asked, "How did so many of you guys get here? I'm impressed.."

"Not right now, Dirk," Daphne said, "Can't you see they're having a moment?"

"Sorry for the trouble," Gary said, "Is there a safe way out of this place by any chance?" _Something feels wrong about all this. I'd like to get out of here in one piece.._

"Sure," Drake said, "There's a portal just over there, take it and go.. I.. wouldn't recommend coming back." He pointed with his massive tail.

They left Dragon's Lair, practically carrying Jet with them.

* * *

"Ooh, what are these?" Vanellope asked as she reached into a crate just inside the entrance of Undead Apocalypse 3. She had two plastic sticks in her hands. She banged them against each other. "Holy mother of monkey milk! Glowsticks!" She shook them around. _This is awesome.  
_

"Hey, do you think there's any zombies around?" little Rancis asked excitedly as Vanellope tossed a glowstick to everyone, "I can hardly wait to meet one. I wonder if they eat brains, haha."

"D-don't say that!" little Minty said nervously, "That guy said they're fine.." _It's fine.. They just look scary, I have to remember that.._

"Alright," Vannie said excitedly, "So who's '**It**'?"

"Sounds like **you** volunteered to me," little Taffyta said with a smile.

"Oh ho!" Vannie said, "Alright, we'll see how long you last with me on the prowl."

"Hide your eyes!" Vanellope said mischievously, "Absolutely no peeking."

"I know the rules, silly," Vannie said, "Now go run off, I'm only counting to ten."

* * *

Jet jumped as the alarm went off when they went through the gateway.

"William you can shut that thing off now.." Ralph grouched, "What took you so long, anyways?"

"The same areas kept repeating, so sue me," William said, "We can't all smash up games like some kind of hot shot.. And I can't believe you had to kill a kid, Jet.." He shook his head. "At least that's one less person going after you."

"Yeah.." Jet said with a sigh, "It's just.." He pressed his hand against his temple. "I wish there was something else I could have done.."

"Headache?" Calhoun asked, "It's no surprise after what you've been through.." _I guess he must have used those daggers.. What a way for someone to go.. A little kid at that._

"Yeah.." Jet said miserably, "I just want to rest for a while.."

"Ralph, escort him back to Sugar Rush, would you?" Calhoun asked. _Who knows what could happen along the way if he's left alone.._

Without fuss Ralph went along with Jet back to his home in Sugar Rush 2.

"Look, Jet.." Ralph said with a sigh, "I know you're pretty broken up about it but I just want you to know. I don't blame you for what you had to do.." _What would I have done in that situation? I can't even imagine.._

"You should.." Jet said, "I'm sorry.. Can you just leave me alone for a while?"

Ralph sighed and said, "Sure.." _He's taking it pretty hard.. __I would be too.._ He slowly and reluctantly left Jet's house and walked to the castle to see if he could find Vannie.

* * *

"I'm sorry.." Crumbelina said meekly, "It's been fun, but I can't stop worrying.." She got out of the water and went to dry off. _It's wrong of me to have fun while Jet is out there risking his life.. What was I even thinking? He'll be fine, but still.._

"Wait, Crumbelina.." Taffyta said, "We're coming too." _Something is wrong.._

"Sorry.." Crumbelina said while giving her a hug, "I just.." _I have to see him as soon as possible.._

"It's okay.." Taffyta said, "We'll go see him together." _Something is really wrong.._

There was an unbearable silence as they were escorted back to the gateway of Hero's Duty.

"Should we come with you?" Minty asked worriedly, "Is there something wrong?" _Please tell __us__.. __You're scaring me.._

"No, it's fine," Crumbelina said with a weak smile as she hugged her, "Tomorrow, okay? Today is just.. complicated." _I wish I didn't have to lie about this.._

Crumbelina, Taffyta and Rancis went back to Sugar Rush 2 while the others reluctantly went back to the beach.

"Okay, so what's wrong?" Rancis asked worriedly, "This isn't like you.." _There's no way this isn't about Jet.._

Crumbelina sighed and sat down at the entrance of Sugar Rush 2. After a moment she finally said, "Jet.. went with them.." _I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner.._

"He what?!" Taffyta screamed, "Why didn't you tell us? We were all playing around while he's-" She sighed, seeing Crumbelina reduced to tears. _I hope he's okay.._

"I'm sorry.." Crumbelina whimpered, "I just didn't want you to worry.." _What is __**wrong**__ with me today?_

"Do you think he's still there?" Rancis asked, "We can go wait at the gatew- Is that **Ralph** over there?" He pointed out in the distance. Ralph was barely more than a speck, but his shape was unmistakable. He was walking towards the exit slowly. They grabbed Taffyta's kart from the nearby garage and drove towards him. They stopped, but Ralph didn't say anything.

For a moment they just stared at each other before Ralph finally broke the silence.

"He's at his house.." Ralph said somberly, "At least that's where I left him. But he.. Just be gentle with him when you see him, okay?.." He started to walk away.

"W-what do you mean?!" Crumbelina asked as she tightly grabbed his forearm. She didn't even know what to think after hearing that.

"He.." Ralph sighed and shook his head, "He had to kill someone so he didn't die himself.." He continued walking off. _This is one hell of a mess, Jet.._

The three drove to his house as fast as they could, hoping he was still there.

* * *

There was a knock at Jet's door, which was ignored.

The knocking stopped and Crumbelina opened the door, and walked inside, Taffyta and Rancis following behind her. It wasn't locked.

"Jet?" Crumbelina asked worriedly, "Are you here?" _I guess he would probably be in his room.._

"Crumbelina?" Jet asked as he laid in bed.

"It's me.." Crumbelina said, "Taffyta and Rancis are here too.. We.. heard from Ralph what happened.." _I'm sure you didn't have any other choice.._

The three entered Jet's room slowly.

"I couldn't do anything else.." Jet said, "He wouldn't listen to reason." _Oh this'll be good._

"It's okay.." Crumbelina said worriedly, "You're safe now." _How do I comfort someone after something like that?.. I'm such a terrible person.._ She walked over to his bed and sat at the edge next to him and looked him in the eye.

Jet slowly sat up, still crying and hugged her. _You feel nice, lady. This was a good idea, haha. __Don't touch her you bastard. I swear..__ Haha, what could __you__ possibly do?_ "I missed you.."

Crumbelina stroked his hair gently and said, "I'm here now.." Tears streamed down her face as a feeling of helplessness took over her.

"..We're glad to see you're safe," Taffyta said as she walked closer to them, "If.. If there's anything we can do.." _What should I say in this situation?_

Jet shook his head and said, "No.. I just want to sleep for a while.. I feel exhausted.." _Crum__belina will notice sooner or later.__Y__ou might as well give yourself up now. Look, I won't hurt you or anything, okay? We'll just have King Candy split us up and you can go on your way..__ Haha, that's not going to happen, Mister.. I'm going to make full use of this chance __you've__ presented me with.. I'm glad he didn't die on the way in, this is much more fun. So hard keeping a straight face.._

"Do you want me to stay?" Crumbelina asked, "No.. I **am** staying.." _I can't leave him like this.._

"I'd.." Jet sniffled, "I'd like that.." _You had it made, Mister. __This is unbelievable.. I'm sorry about what happened to your game, okay?! It was Set that got it unplugged! Don't do this..__ That won't bring my __**parents**__ back. That won't get me __**ice cream**__.. Mister, you're pretty stupid if you think I'm going to let go after all this.. Not a __**single**__ game in this arcade has ice cream anymore.._

"Jet.. Are you okay?" Crumbelina asked as Jet slowly started holding her tighter. _That's a stupid question, of course he isn't.._

"I'm sorry.." Jet said, "I'm just so angry at myself. I took everything from him. His game, his parents.. even his ice cream.. And now I took his life.." _**Ice cream**__?! You're mad about __**ice cream**__?! Look, we'll get you some ice cream, okay? We can have King Candy make you an entire ice cream shop of your own if you want.. Just leave us out of this.__ Tempting, but no, haha.. This __is__ too fun to pass up. I always wanted to be an adult.. So many new things to experience.. __Oh? What's this? The chefs are going to have a restaurant here?_

"..B-but he gave you no choice, right?" Rancis asked, "You can't keep killing yourself over this.. I-I know that sounds harsh.." _I can't say I know what it's like to kill someone permanently.. Or even temporarily.. Why mention ice cream?  
_

"That doesn't make me feel any better.." Jet said with a sigh, "I'm sorry.. Can it wait until tomorrow? I don't want to be seen like this.." _Go away, Mister, can't you see I'm with my girl right now? The other lady can stay, she's pretty too, but- __Rancis, come on.. Notice something, anything.__ Alright, that's it, I'm tuning you out.. So annoying._

Rancis sighed and said, "Alright.. We'll see you later, okay?" _I guess there's nothing we can do right now.._

Taffyta gave him and Crumbelina a hug and said, "I'm sorry we couldn't have been there with you.. Maybe if we were there we could have done something.." _Why does everything have to keep happening to him? I'm thankful he's alive, but I just wish there was something I could do.._

"No.." Jet said sadly, "You would have died.. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything were to happen to you.." _You're lucky you didn't come, lady. I was seriously trying to kill them, I would have you know._ _This idea was just a back-up. __What kind of password is 'Have some candles' anyway? What do candles have to do with anything?  
_

"O-oh.." Taffyta said, "Well we'll.. see you later, okay?" _I guess we really would have been useless.. I __still __feel useless.._

"Yeah.." Jet said, "I'd like that." _How does he have so many friends? They all know what he did. This is crazy, haha._

Taffyta and Rancis reluctantly left.

Jet laid back down heavily with a sigh after releasing himself from Crumbelina's hug. She laid down next to him without a word and embraced him warmly.

"We'll get through this, okay?" Crumbelina said as she stroked his cheek, wiping away some tears. _It's so hard seeing him like this.. What's wrong with me? Having fun earlier while he's going through this.._

"Yeah," Jet said softly, "I can't do this without you.." He leaned his face into her chest and went to sleep. _It's no wonder he fell in love with her.. She's perfect.._

Crumbelina just laid there holding him, unable to sleep.

* * *

"Ralph.." Felix said as Ralph joined him and Calhoun in Tapper's. _I knew he would end up here.._

"How's he holding up?" Calhoun asked softly. _Killing isn't easy.. Especially a child, __I would imagine__.._

"He's depressed," Ralph said, "Isn't that obvious?" _I should __have answered that better__._

"Don't sass me," Calhoun said sternly, "..Sorry.."She sighed. _Dirk said he'll fix __his__ game back to how it should be, so at least we don't have to worry about all the damage he's done.. __Never would have thought someone else knew the code to their own code room without being told by someone._

"Where's Vannie?" Felix asked. _Maybe she can take his mind off of it somehow.. Ralph is taking it pretty hard himself._

"King Candy didn't know," Ralph said with a sigh, "I'll check Sugar Rush later." _Had to explain to him what happened.. At least Jet came back in one piece in the literal sense._

"The surge protectors might know," Calhoun offered.

"Maybe.." Ralph said with a sigh, "Hey Tapper, I could use a few root beers.." _I doubt they'll do much good._

"S-sure thing, Ralph.." Tapper said as he walked over and slid a few his way. _I'd better not pry.._

"Thanks.." Ralph said as he grabbed one and finished it in one go.

* * *

"10," Vannie said, "Ready or not, here I come!" She turned around and first looked for any signs of glowsticks. _I guess they knew it'd be easier to spot them with those out.._ She sighed and started walking through the dark forest holding up her glowstick. _Even if they see me coming they can't run far and stay hidden._

Every tree looked virtually identical. It felt like she was going in circles despite trying to go in a straight line. There was no worn path, there were no zombies. There weren't any people either.

"Where **is** everyone?" Vannie asked herself aloud. _I hope none of them get lost._

Little Minty and little Jubileena silently giggled to themselves as they saw Vannie pass with her glowstick out a few yards away.

Little Taffyta screamed a distance away. "Zombies!" and ran away from them as fast as she could, pulling out her glowstick so she can see. _Harmless my rear! These guys are creepy!_

"Taffyta, you okay?!" little Rancis yelled as he tried to follow her, running towards the faint glimmer of a glowstick.

"Rancis, what is it?" Vannie asked worriedly, "Where's Taffyta?" _Was it a bad idea coming here?_

"I-I don't know, she just screamed about zombies," little Rancis said frantically, "W-we have to find her.." _It was my idea to play hide and seek. __I'll never hear the end of it. I hope she's okay.._

"It's okay.." Vannie said reassuringly, "Alex said the zombies are harmless. Come on, let's go find her.."

"R-right.." little Rancis said.

"The screaming is coming from over this way," Vanellope said as she glitched next to Vannie and little Rancis. She pointed out into the darkness. _Geez, Taffyta, such a diaper baby, haha._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so hopefully I didn't make any especially big mistakes this chapter. By the way, Charley is an idiot. I didn't make a mistake when he had the thought that there's no ice cream anywhere, he just assumes the ice cream in the Sugar Rush games is decoration. Not that it affects much in the end.


	44. Chapter 44 - Charley

Crumbelina softly stroked Jet's hair as he slept nestled into her chest, still unaware that Charley had taken control of Jet's body. _Just sleep it away, Jet.. If only that kid could have just.. I don't know. There must have been something Jet could have done for him if he would have just listened to him.._

"Ice cream.." Jet mumbled in his sleep.

Crumbelina looked at him curiously. _Ice cream? Since when does Jet talk in his sleep? Maybe I just never noticed.._

After a few minutes Jet mumbled again, "That's stupid, Mister.."

Again and again Jet kept mumbling in his sleep things that he wasn't likely to ever say. _It's probably nothing, but I should probably talk to King Candy.._ She slowly and carefully let go of him to get out of bed, hoping he wouldn't wake up. _I'll be back soon.._ She got out of bed and wrote him a note saying, "I'll be back later. Don't go anywhere, alright?" and left it next to him on the bed.

She quietly left the house trying not to make even so much as the tiniest sound and headed to the castle. _My kart probably woke him up.. I'll just talk to King Candy about Jet acting a little weird and then come back.. Who would Jet call 'Mister'? Sounds like something a kid would say. That and ice cream.._

* * *

Ralph sighed heavily and asked Felix and Calhoun, "What would you have done in that position? I know that's not really.. a **fair** question.." _Honestly, I still don't even know what I would have done. Could I have gotten to him while avoiding acid at the same time? Even if I had resolved to 'fight' him.. And then there's the danger to the files. Would the acid have corroded them as well?_

"That's something you never really know until you're in that position," Calhoun said dryly, "I can't say whether what Jet did was right or wrong, because we just don't know what happened in there." _Why did he have to go in there in the first place? Well the kid was in the code room, so I guess he figured the kid might delete the room we were in or something along those lines.._ She gulped down her root beer. Ralph did the same to his second.

"I.." Felix said with a sigh and shook his head, "I don't think I could have done it myself.. Jeepers.. There's no gravity in code rooms, you know? I'm a good jumper but how can you avoid anything coming at you under those conditions? Sure you can swim and float around, but.. I would imagine the balloons would be going too fast. Jet was probably only able to do it because he can 'use the Force'.." He sighed again and drank sip of root beer. _But killing a child.. Couldn't he have simply.._

Ralph nodded and said, "Y-yeah I know what you-"

"Jaminy!" Felix said as he slammed his hands down on the counter, "S-sorry.." He looked around at the people who briefly looked at him due to his sudden outburst. "Couldn't he have simply held him in place with that Force ability of his?" He got up, frustrated, and headed towards the exit of Tapper's. Calhoun and Ralph looked at each other for a moment before following after him.

* * *

Rather than go straight back into the water, Leon, Minty, Garret, and Jubileena sat on towels under the large umbrella they had set up earlier.

"A-are you sure we should be enjoying ourselves after that?" Minty asked hesitantly. _Crumbelina may be trying to hide it, but I know there's something going on.. Is it really something we can't help with?_

Leon sighed, shaking his head, and said, "Whatever it is, she doesn't want us to worry about it. You heard her.. It does have me a little worried too, but it's probably none of our business." _The other two who went with her picked up on it as well, but it seems like they're closer friends. I'm sure they can handle whatever it is.._

"Crumbelina.. She gets like that sometimes," Jubileena said solemnly, "I'm not sure why it is, but she's uneasy around other people sometimes, especially if she thinks they don't like her.." _I know that kind of feeling to a lesser extent. I think it started for her around the time she became friends with Taffyta.. Minty Zaki especially wasn't happy about __i__t.._ _But they don't really need to know all that._

"It wasn't anything we did, was it?" Garret asked, "I thought we were getting along great.." _We really shouldn't be talking behind her back like this.._

"No," Jubileena said with a sigh, "I don't think so.. She'll tell us later if she wants to. She said we'll hang out tomorrow, didn't she?" _Let's change the subject.._

"R-right!" Minty said, "It'll be fine tomorrow. Maybe Jet will be up to joining us too." _I haven't forgotten about you, Jet.._

* * *

"There you are!" Vanellope said excitedly, "Quit crying, Taffyta!" _Oh no! Zombies?! In a **zombie** game?_

"It's not funny!" little Taffyta said as she wiped her eyes, "They're scary-looking, okay?"

"That may be true, but it still hurts, you know?" a zombie said with a raspy voice as he shambled over, "I was just going to ask what you were doing here. But nooo. Every time it's the same reaction. Why do I bother with you humans?" He crossed his arms.

"Yeah!" another zombie said as he shambled over, "The stormtroopers are **much** more reasonable. What nerve.."

Little Taffyta's face was set with a mix of shock and humiliation.

Vannie patted little Taffyta on the shoulder softly and said, "We're-"

"Sorry about that zombie dudes," Vanellope interrupted unintentionally, not hearing Vannie until it was too late. She glanced at Vannie apologetically and continued, "You see, it's her first time seeing a zombie and didn't know how to react. Isn't that right, Taffyta?"

The two zombies looked at each other.

"R-r-right.." little Taffyta said, "I'm.. sorry.." _Don't eat me.._

The first zombie sighed and said, "Right.. That's how it always is." He shook his head. "What are you kids even doing here? Ash won't be too happy about this."

"Ash?" little Rancis asked as he gave little Taffyta a hug.

"He's what we hear you guys call a Good Guy," the second zombie said, "The stormtroopers went on at length about the subject. That's why we agreed to let them stay here in the first place. It was the first time we had humans other than Ash not completely freak out on us." The two zombies nodded at each other.

"We just came here to play hide and seek," Vanellope said boldly, "This place is perfect for it. I guess we didn't really think about how you guys would feel about the intrusion.. Or if you'd mind us using these glowsticks we found.." She smiled sheepishly.

* * *

Crumbelina nervously knocked on the door to the castle. _It's my first time coming here alone.._ She knew by now to look down when the door opens due to the fact that Sour Bill is vertically challenged.

The door creaked open slowly and Sour Bill eyed her suspiciously before asking, "No Jet this time? You two are making this a habit.."

"I-I'm sorry, please don't get mad.." Crumbelina pleaded, "It might be important.. Can I please see King Candy?" _It also might be nothing and I'm overreacting.._

"Wel- Alright.." Sour Bill said hesitantly, momentarily surprised at her reaction, "He will be with you in a moment." _It's not like I could say no anyways._

King Candy said as he walked toward her after being notified of her visit. He had been pacing around in the throne room since Ralph left. "Leave us.." he said calmly as he looked down at Sour Bill. _I wonder how __**this**__ visit relates to Jet.._ Sour Bill walked off to perform some other busywork. "What is it, Crumbelina? You said it might be important?"

"It's about Jet.." Crumbelina said nervously, "It.. It might be nothing but he's been saying strange things in his sleep and I don't know what to make of it.." _He's going to think I'm an idiot.._

* * *

Jet woke up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. _Will you finally let me talk some sense into you?_ "What do you want, Mister? You already had your turn. I'm just doing you to what you did to us, don't you think that's fair? In fact you're getting off easy." _You do realize that there __**is**__ ice cream in this game and __in __the other Sugar Rush, right? Why don't we go talk __this__ over __over __there?_ "T-there's no ice cream.. That's just decoration, stupid." _Charley, we're in a __candy themed __game.. The flowers are lollypops, the trees are made of candy canes.. Search my memories, you know it__'s__ true.._

He sighed and went over to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. _What are you doing?_ "I'm looking at myself." _You're looking at __**me**__, Charley.. You can still stop doing this. Crumbelina must have noticed something was wrong. I can help you, but you have to let it go.._ "I'm not going to trust anything you say. I'm not stupid.." _Then trust what I'm thinking.. I never wanted any of this to happen, Charley. If I had known what Set was doing, I would have done something about it long ago. You can sense that, can't you? I know you miss your parents, but doing the same to others will only put you on that same level, won't it? Oscar wouldn't want that. I never met your mother, but I doubt she would want this either._ "What do you know about my mom?! Huh?! She couldn't even leave the game because of you and him! You **killed** them!" He cried frustratedly. _**Set**__ killed them.. I was just..__No, __I was at fault too, but I didn't know what he did._ "That's no excuse!" He quickly walked out of the bathroom and left the house, getting into Jet's kart.

He grabbed the steering wheel tightly. _Down that road and up t__o t__he mountain__s__.. That's where you're going, isn't it? Listen, Charley.. I.. I know I've done a lot of __bad things__ to you, but living like this isn't the answer. I've done it for most of my life.. It isn't what it's cracked up to be. I know i__t isn't__ my place to say any of this, __but-_ "Then **shut up**!"

He sped off down the road towards the mountains made of vanilla ice cream. _After you've had your ice cream, what do you plan on doing?_ "I'm going to live your life. I'm going to be happy again. I **was** happy until you came along again. Han and Leia were happy too. When the paperboy threw in that newspaper saying you were alive, it all changed.. I thought for sure I couldn't let you live.." He laughed bitterly. "It hurt, didn't it? The acid.. That hammer guy must have saved you. What do you think was worse? That pain, or the pain you inflicted on me all these years?" _I hurt you more.. I almost died, __b__ut you've been dead inside for years, haven't you?_ "I'm **not** dead inside! I'm having fun! It's just because you're being so annoying that I'm getting so worked up. I don't know why I'm even talking to you!" _It's because deep down you know I'm right, Charley.. Why can't we __**both**__ be happy? I.. You could live with me. I could take care of you.. You'd have all the ice cream you ever wanted. I'd let you stay up as long as you want.._ "Stop.." _You can have your own little ice cream shop next to the Food Fight chefs' restaurant and pick on them.. I'm sure Crumbelina would forgive you for this if you just.._ "N-no.. She.." _Taffyta and Rancis wouldn't mind playing with you either. You can have lots of friends your age at the other Sugar Rush game too.. __They would even let you race over there... I don't want you to cry yourself to sleep every night for the rest of your life like I used to.. It's not just me you're hurting by doing this...Charley?_ "We're almost there.."

He suddenly felt a cold breeze pass through him as if he were driving into one giant freezer. "It really is ice cream.." He said in disbelief as he stopped the kart and got out. _I told you, Charley.. I haven't lied to you yet. I'm bad at it anyways.._

He slowly walked over to the side of the mountain and stuck his hand inside. He felt a lump in his throat as the cold chill shot through him. It was as if the entirety of his code was screaming at him. Begging him for just one bite.. _Go ahead, Charley.. You've waited too long __already__, haven't you?_ He slowly pulled his hand out. It was numb from the cold, but he didn't care.. He scooped the ice cream into his mouth, savoring the rich vanilla flavor.. That old familiar sweet smell.. If he weren't crying already, he would be by now. It was as if decades of thirst.. decades of **hunger**.. all melted away in just one bite of ice cream. He felt as though he was programmed for this one moment.. He sniffled as his nose began to run. _Charley.. Come on, we can do this as often as you want.._ "Do you promise?" _I promise.._

It was more than just words that they shared. Jet poured his heart out into Charley, desperately trying to fill the void he and his brother left behind. _Come on, we can explain it to King Candy.. He'll understand.._ "Just.. just a few more bites.." _Take as many as you_ _need_..

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well I hope that went over as well for you as it did for me.. You see, ice cream has a special place in Charley's code. If Turbo's reason for existing was racing, then Charley's was eating ice cream. It was literally what he was programmed for.


	45. Chapter 45

"Yes.." King Candy said as if he had figured something out, "Crumbelina, I would like for you to wait in the Fungeon. Salty Phil will show you the way. Just a precaution." _I knew something was off when Ralph explained the situation.. I'll warp him to the Fungeon before I try confirming it.._

"W-what?" Crumbelina asked worriedly. _ He's not putting __**me**__ in there is he?_

"Don't worry, ahaha.." King Candy said, "If it's anything, I'll fix it and you can have him back." _I knew it sounded wrong that Jet would remember how to hack games.. Killing someone is also highly doubtful._

* * *

A short while later, Ralph nearly tore a castle door off its hinges as he, Felix, and Calhoun entered to talk to King Candy about Jet's behavior. Felix fixed it.

"Raaalph!" Sour Bill complained in a stressed monotone. _Always wrecking something.. __And he s__mells__._

"Ah, Sour Bill!" Ralph said frantically, "Where's King Candy? We gotta talk to him.."

"In the Fungeon with Crumbelina.." Sour Bill answered confusedly. _Well Jet's there too by now, but I'd rather not embarrass myself by amending that statement._

"Alright, thanks little man!" Ralph said as he ran off to the Fungeon with Felix and Calhoun close behind. _Glad I had the tour.. Well it's just a long winding stairway down.. with guards.. but still.._

* * *

A tiny while earlier.

"Huh?" Jet said as he looked around in confusion, ice cream was still on his right hand. He was suddenly no longer surrounded by ice cream mountains, but instead by bricks made out of compact sugar with a barred window. There was a thick, reinforced door across from him.

"Jet?!" Crumbelina asked as she walked to the door of the cell she heard him speak from.

"H-hey.." Jet said nervously, unable to see her through the door, as its window was a bit too high up. _Must be King Candy who brought us here.._ "Is King Candy coming down here too? Jet says we need to talk to him to get fixed.."

"Who am I speaking to?" Crumbelina asked hesitantly. _It's definitely Jet's voice.._

"It's a little bit of a long story, Crumbelina.." Jet said with a sigh. He jumped up and grabbed the bars on the door's window to lift himself up in order to see her, "I was the one that tried killing him until a while ago, sorry.." _Oh dear.. That didn't sound good at all.. Hmm.._ "Don't think so hard about it, Jet." _I suppose I can use his name.._ "I'm not going to do it again though, promise. I'm not mad anymore, okay? Don't worry.."

"Wha- but how?" Crumbelina asked. _Okay, wait.. wait wait.. So the kid.. in Jet's body.. What?_

Jet suddenly glitched into yellow code and fell to the ground backwards, splitting from Charley. Charley was still hanging from the bars looking at Crumbelina.

"I think I can safely say I don't want that to happen again.." Jet said as he got to his feet and dusted himself off, "I'm okay now, Crumbelina. No worries." _I figured this was likely about to happen. Would have been nice to have a little warning though.._

"Just remember you promised," Charley said as he looked back at Jet. _I'll hold you to it. __All of it.._

"You know I meant it.." Jet said as he patted Charley on the back softly. _He's still just a kid, after all.._

"I'm confused," Crumbelina said while stroking her temple. _Someone is going to have to explain this to me.._

"We had a discussion between men, that's all.." Jet said, "He had taken control of me earlier and pretended I killed him." _At least he also reversed everything else he had done in Dragon's Lair after that.. It's what Set __**should**__ have done when __**we**__ were game jumping.._

"He changed my mind though.." Charley said, "His idea's better." _King Candy better do what Jet said he would, otherwise that's just unfair.._

"Alright, alright," King Candy said, "You can open the door, I'd at least like to see the people I'm talking to." _Perhaps we should have a cell with bigger windows for times like this.. _Charley got down and Salty Phil opened the cell door after unlocking it. "You alright in there, Jet?"

"Never better," Jet said casually. _Perhaps I'm a little __**too**__ used to situations like these.._

"Right.." King Candy said, "So I'd like the full explanation.." _They seem to be getting along.. I still have some fixing to do but I'd like to know what I'm dealing with first._

Charley and Jet gave an account of what happened and the deal they made, which Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun caught the tail end of.

"Oh, well okay," Felix said with a bemused expression. _I had a lot to say before coming here, but I guess it was all for nothing.._

Calhoun ran a hand through her hair. _How'd this get by me? Well, as long as it's resolved.._

"Well.." Ralph said with a sigh, "I.. don't know what to say." _It's g__ood __that__ Jet didn't __really __kill anyone. And I suppose he __**would**__ be the kind of person willing to take in the kid.._ "I don't think the kid needs the ability to throw around acid.." _And of course the code room stuff.._

"Ahaha, oh don't worry about that," King Candy said, "I'll take care of it.." _I probably should have changed that __**before**__ coming down here.._

"So.." Crumbelina said slowly, still confused, "You're.. adopting him then?" _That's what it sounds like.._

"Yeah.." Jet said seriously. _It's the least I can do._

"I'll stay out of the way, promise," Charley said seriously. _I hope she doesn't hate me too much. __I like __her.._

Crumbelina stood there thinking for a moment and said, "Well.. I guess that's.. okay?" _I'm still not so sure it's a good idea.. He tried to kill Jet.. And Ralph, and his friends too, of course.. But Jet wants __this.__. __Charley__'s a kid.. I suppose __he's harmless __if he can't throw acid around or hijack games.. _She laughed nervously. _Isn't that why I gave Jet a chance in the first place?_

"Well this certainly got interesting," Calhoun said sternly with a sigh, "You sure you're up for something like that, Jet?" _Raising a child that stays a child forever.. And Charley's almost been around just as long as him if what Zorba said yesterday is anything to go by.._

"Positive.." Jet said sincerely as he looked her in the eye. _He knows how to take care of himself already anyways. All I really need to do is be there for him._

"Well **I** think it's a good idea," Felix said seriously with a nod before crossing his arms. _The kid's been through a lot. And he undid the damage he caused for the most part.. And it's what Jet wants to do, so why not?_

"Alright, alright," King Candy said, "Well it's decided." He shrugged. _I suppose we __**could**__ use an ice cream shop around here. As long as it's not acid flavor.. Oh, that gives me an idea, ahaha. I'm sure the kid would like that. _"Now Charley, I expect you to be on your best behavior.."

"I will, Mister," Charley said, "I mean King Candy.." _I guess I should work on using these people's names._

While the others stayed in the Fungeon talking about nothing in particular, King Candy returned to the code room to remove all knowledge of the code rooms from Charley's memory and took away his ability to throw water balloons filled with acid, replacing it with something more in line with his own ability.

Ralph excused himself to go look for Vannie and Vanellope. _I need to unwind a bit after all this.._

* * *

"The glowsticks respawn when the game starts anyway," the first zombie said with a shrug, "You must have met a zombie before.. I can tell."

"Yeah, I know Zombie from the House of the Dead," Vanellope said with a smile, "Well, he calls himself Zombie anyways." _I wonder if that's his real name.._

"So what's this Ash guy like?" Vannie asked, "We haven't seen any humans here besides us yet."

"He's.. quirky," the second zombie said, "He lives in a cabin not far from here. It's where most of the game takes place. All he has to do is fight us off for a half hour. If dawn comes and he's still alive, he wins."

"I wonder where the others went.." Vanellope said.

"I don't know.." little Rancis said with a sigh, "Maybe we should look for them. They're probably bored by now.." _We should probably leave.. Taffyta isn't enjoying this at all._

"Will you be okay, Taffyta?" Vannie asked. _They look scary, but come on.._

Little Taffyta sighed and said, "Yeah.. I'm fine." _Why am I the only one who freaked out? That's not cool.._

* * *

Leon and the others had a modest amount of fun at the beach for a while. The mood was still somewhat ruined by Crumbelina, Taffyta, and Rancis leaving so suddenly earlier.

"Should we go eat?" Garret asked, "I don't like to complain, but I'm a bit hungry."

"Yeah.." Jubileena said with a sigh, "That's a good idea.." _I hope Crumbelina feels better soon.._

"I'm up for whatever," Leon said. _Can't stop thinking about the way they left.._

"Me too.." Minty said with a sigh. _I wonder if Crumbelina was worrying about Jet.. That would make more sense I think.. Yeah, that has to be it._

"Why don't we go eat in your game?" Garret asked the girls, "We might run into them again.." _Worth a shot, right?_

"I think that's a good idea," Leon said, "It's bothering me a little.."

They went to Cafe DiCaramello. Taffyta and Rancis had been there since leaving Jet's house, not doing much of anything after eating.

"Hey guys," Minty said nervously. _I'm not sure if they want company or not judging by those faces.._

"Hey Minty," Taffyta said with a weak smile, "Sorry about earlier.."

Minty shook her head and said, "You don't have to apologize.. How's Crumbelina doing?"

Rancis sighed and said, "It's Jet we have to worry about. He's a bit down in the dumps right now." _They deserve to know that much, I guess. I'm not going to tell them Jet killed someone.._

"Is it because of yesterday?" Jubileena asked. _When he.. Well now I just feel bad about going to the beach._

"Yeah.." Taffyta said with a sigh, "He'll be fine though, he just needs time to unwind." _I hope he'll be fine._

Leon's group took a seat at another table next to Taffyta and Rancis to eat while talking to them.

* * *

"You look so different," Luke said with a laugh. _They actually look like people._ "When's my turn?" They were in the bar at E-Z Livin'.

"Hand me a mirror somebody," the first Darth Vader said while eyeing Luke suspiciously, "I'd better not look ridiculous." _At least I'm finally on my own in here._ He ran his hands along his jaw. Bobby handed him a mirror as requested with a wide smile. As Darth Vader, Now going by the name Anakin Skywalker, looked into the mirror he could see that he had curly light brown shoulder length hair, he had blue eyes.. He was whole..

"Looks good," the second Darth Vader, now just Ani, said, "We could pass as twins he said as he grabbed the mirror and looked at himself. _Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to let Jet live.._ He glanced at his other self who nodded knowingly.

"When's my turn?" Luke asked again. _Get me outta heeeeeere..__ Ahhhhhhhhh!_

"Maybe we should just leave you like that," Obi-Wan said jokingly as he gingerly sipped.. something.. It was green. _I like that idea._

"Very funny, Ben," Luke said, "You know how annoying this guy is to me." _You'd be like this too if you were in my place, trust me on that.__ Wait a minute.. I wonder who would be with Emi when we get split up?.. Me, right? I don't like the idea of sharing her one bit. Especially not with him._

"Builds character," Han said with a smile. _You would think he'd be used to it by now._ _I was just thinking that_ _myself. _"So Leia and I were really out of it for that long?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Lukes, stop freaking out already..


	46. Chapter 46

"Do we **really** have to hold hands?" Charley asked Jet as they exited the castle. _I get that you're taking this seriously, but come on.._ They headed to Crumbelina's kart which was parked nearby.

"Aww, but it's cute, isn't it?" Crumbelina asked as she grabbed his other hand. _Might as well give this a shot.._

Charley whined slightly. _I can walk on my own. It's not like I'm going anywhere._

"So it might be a few days before you can have your ice cream shop, huh?" Jet said as they got into the kart.

"That's what he said," Charley said, "The chefs are still waiting for their restaurant too.. Where's it going to be, anyway?" An ice cream appeared in his hand. _Best superpower **ever**._ He licked it slowly.

"No idea.." Jet said plainly.

"Don't let it drip now," Crumbelina said. _Is he really the one who tried to kill Jet, Ralph, and his friends? It's hard to believe..  
_

"No worries," Charley said happily as he finished it in one big bite, "I never let ice cream melt." _That only happened in the game when the players weren't good enough._

"So where shall we go then?" Jet asked, "We've got plenty of time.."

"Well, I haven't eaten yet," Crumbelina said, "Ice cream doesn't count as real food, by the way." She looked back at Charley with a smile. _Just act natural.. He's harmless._

"I got nothing against normal food," Charley said with a shrug, "Ice cream's better though."

"Sounds like a plan then," Jet said. _I'm not **terribly** hungry because of the ice cream earlier, but okay.._

* * *

"So they're in here then.." Ralph said as he looked up at the sign to Undead Apocalypse 3. _Kind of an odd place to bring kids though, but that's very like them.._ He shrugged and went inside with a sigh.

After taking the short train ride into the game he looked around trying to find anything in the dark forest, spotting a few green lights off in the distance. _Well that's a place to start. _He walked for a while and stumbled into a small pit designed to make players trip on their way to the cabin. The player was meant to jump over it. "Great.." He said as he climbed out, mud slowly rolling off of his feet as if it were never there to begin with. _Wish I could see where I was going. Okay there's a tree.._

After fumbling around in the dark for a while he finally met up with the source of the green lights.

"H-hey Ralph.." little Crumbelina said with a nervous smile. _Not often I see him.._

"Hey Crumbelina," Ralph said with a sigh as he looked around, "I uh.. don't suppose you've seen Vanellope around here anywhere?" _I'm sure she's with Vannie wherever she is.._

"Haven't seen her since we started," little Minty said with a warm smile, "We're playing hide and seek."

"Not the best of strategies to hide in a group, is it?" Ralph asked with a smile. _When I played with them that one time in the Candy Cane Forest they were better at it.._

"Well we got bored just standing here," little Jubileena said, "We've been hiding for a while now so we decided to group back up." _Ergo the glowsticks that likely led you to us._

"So is it true that you're Vanellope's dad now?" Minty asked with a big grin. _I can't describe how cute that is. They always did look like a perfect match in that regard.. Too bad for King Candy though._

Ralph chuckled and said, "Yeah.. I suppose word has spread far and wide by now since this morning." _Vanellope must be real proud of me. _He smiled. "So do you have any idea which way the others went? I haven't seen any other lights around here.."

"Well, Taffyta was screaming about zombies a while ago," little Crumbelina said sincerely, "But Alex assured us they're harmless so she's probably fine. They might have gone find her."

"Oh yeah, I forgot I could just yell.." Ralph said, "You might want to cover your ears." The girls covered their ears, knowing full well just how loud he can be. "I'M GONNA W- woops.. HEY! ANYONE OUT THERE?!"

There was a brief moment of silence before they could hear Vanellope yell, "Ralph, we're over here!"

"WHERE'S OVER HERE?!" Ralph asked loudly. _That's not telling me much of anything._

"Just follow our voices, Ralph! It's not **that** hard!" Vannie yelled back. _Maybe we should head towards him.._

Ralph gave the all clear for the girls to uncover their ears and they followed him towards the source of snark.

"Ralph!" Vanellope glitched into his chest happily.

Ralph laughed. He caught and hugged her then said, "Glad to see you too, kid.. So how has your day been?" He smiled down at her and then looked over to Vannie, still holding Vanellope in his arm.

"Well, it wasn't so bad," Vannie said with a smile as she walked over and hugged Ralph, "I got hit on twice while you were gone." She laughed. "Would have been nice to have you around at the time." She smiled mischievously. _Guess who could use a bath.. Well it's not __**so**__ bad._

"I'm glad you crushed their hopes and dreams into a fine powder," Ralph said with a grin, fighting the urge to kiss her. _Not in front of the kids.. And zombies.._ "So who are these guys? Uh.. No offense intended."

"Just us zombies.." the first zombie said while shrugging.

"So is this all of you now?" the second zombie asked.

"Yep, this is all of us," little Rancis said while holding little Taffyta's hand as discreetly as he could. _Relax a little, Taffyta.._

* * *

"Looks like the place is packed," Crumbelina said with a smile as she pulled up to the restaurant. Taffyta and Rancis were still sitting there talking to Leon's group who were about halfway done eating.

"What's up guys?" Jet asked nonchalantly as he and Crumbelina hopped out of her kart. _Don't mind that we've got a kid with us. Nothing out of the ordinary.. Yeah.. Should have thought about what we would say in this kind of situation._

Charley hopped out shortly after. _Great. Now what? There's no way this will go without an explanation.._

"Jet!" Taffyta said with a big grin on her face, "You're.." Her thought process got hung up mid sentence.

Jet chuckled and said, "Yeah.. Sorry I worried you guys. This is Charley." _Probably should have thought about that a bit more before telling them his name._

Taffyta and Rancis just stared at him for a moment, unsure how to react.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Charley said, "Jet, say something." _I'm not used to this. Before all I would have to do is.. __Wait.. How __**did**__ I do it before? I made people listen to me, but I can't remember how.. Come on, that was useful..  
_

"It's nothing to worry about," Jet said with a laugh as he placed a hand on Charley's shoulder, "I'm not really sure where to begin explaining it."

"So you didn't kill him, then," Rancis said with a sigh of relief, "But then.." _I'm confused.. What happened earlier? Why did Ralph say Jet killed the kid? Was it someone else?_

"So you're the one that.." Taffyta said, her words failing her again. She felt as though her blood was ready to boil.

"Relax, Taffyta," Jet said sincerely, "It's all good, okay?" _I don't need you holding a grudge against him, come on.._

"Seriously?" Taffyta asked in disbelief, "You.. but.." _Guh.. Work a little faster here, brain. I need you.._

"We're listening," Jubileena said with a sigh, "We're confused too over here.." _There I go being rude again.. I need to stop doing that._

Garret looked at her with a knowing smile which made her blush ever so slightly. _I like that about her for some reason.._

Minty played with the strings of her hoodie, not sure what to make of the situation either. _Jet seems fine though, so that's good._ She smiled. _And_ _Crumbelina isn't looking worried anymore either, yay!_

Jet sat down at yet another nearby table, Charley and Crumbelina joining him. Jet sighed and explained exactly what happened. "...And that's basically it, right Charley?"

"Pretty much," Charley said nervously. His face felt hot. It was as if all of the eyes watching him were burning a hole through him. _So many people paying attention to me at once lately.._

* * *

"So you don't remember any of it?" Luke asked Han and Leia, "Being in Dragon's Lair, I mean.." _I wonder if that's maybe for the best.._ _Blah blah blah._

"I remember us going inside when our game was unplugged," Han said with a sigh, "But after that it's a bit hazy.." _Yeah, it's a bi-_

"t weird." Han said as he split off from himself. _Free at last.. Haha. Sorry, kid._ He smiled smugly.

"But when is MY turn?!" Luke asked. _Now they're just doing this on purpose..__ I swear I'm the one that wants it most and Ben is probably __going to be __next._

"Bromigo, relaaax," Bobby said with a smile, "It won't be much longer." _This guy's a riot._

* * *

"So now that we've all assembled," Ralph said, "What shall we do now?"

"I'd just like to get out of here," little Taffyta said with a sigh, "It's so dark.." _It's not even just the zombies.. This whole place is just creepy as all get-out._

Little Rancis sighed and said, "If someone can lead us to the exit I can bring her home from there."

"I'll go too," little Crumbelina said as she walked closer to them. _This game of hide and seek kinda fell apart from the start.._

"I'll do it.." the second zombie volunteered with a sigh. _Why is it always like this? Well it's usually worse. I guess that's an improvement.._

The four left for the exit after little Rancis apologetically waved goodbye to the others.

"Okay.." Ralph said "What shall we do **now**?" He couldn't help but smirk, watching Vannie's facial expression as little Taffyta left.

"Well, I don't know," Vannie said mischievously, "Hey, do you think that Ash guy would mind us checking out his cabin?"

"..We don't exactly get many visitors here.." the first zombie said, "I'm not really sure **how** he would react, to be honest." _These are the first visitors that stayed more than a couple of minutes in a good long while.. Usually people just leave and take a few glowsticks with them on the way out._ He shook his head.

"Well I say we should check it out," Vanellope said mischievously, "We came here to check the place out, and you said the majority of the game is played there, right?" _I wonder what the cabin is like!_

"You're a bold one, aren't you?" the zombie said with a smile. _This one is refreshing.._

"She's president of an entire game, after all.." Ralph said with a smile. _She hasn't complained about being held this long yet.. This is a first.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I only wish that I could get these chapters out earlier in the day, haha.


	47. Chapter 47

Ralph's group carefully moseyed towards the cabin, watching the ground for pit traps. They could hear a shotgun being fired repeatedly inside the cabin as they approached it.

"That normal?" Ralph asked with more than a hint of concern. _Not so sure I should let the girls anywhere near that.._

"He's shooting at a book in the basement," the first zombie said casually and shook his head, "Nothing to worry about."

"So what's your name?" Ralph asked curiously. _I'm sure it's probably not Zombie.. But really.. Nothing to worry about?_

"Well, I made it up myself, but you can call me Harold," he answered.

Ralph nodded and then cautiously knocked on the door of the cabin. _Well, here goes.._

"Scotty?" Ash asked from inside the cabin, "That you?"

"It's Harold," he said, "We have visitors.." _Put your pants on.._

"Visitors?!" Ash asked surprisedly, "Groovy." There were crashing sounds and rustling of clothes. "One moment.." They couldn't help but laugh quietly. He opened the door with a smile on his face. "Come on in." He had short, messy dark brown hair that stopped just above his eyes. He wore a dirty long sleeved blue denim shirt with one of the sleeves ripped off at the shoulder and dusty brown pants. His shotgun was now holstered on his back.

"Nice place you have here," Ralph said looking around the run-down cabin's interior. The room was lit by a few lamps sitting on end tables. There was a deer head mounted on one of the crumbling walls. There was a trail of blood on the floor leading to a basement trapdoor which was chained up. The wood floor itself, much like everything else in the room, was old and decrepit.

"Yes," Ash said with a smile, "I've been redecorating recently."

"This place is awesome!" Vanellope said excitedly, glitching out of Ralph's arm, "Hey is this real blood? What's in the basement? Why's it chained up? Woah, a deer head!" _This place is super creepy. Taffyta would have passed out, haha._

"Woah there, kid," Ash said with a laugh, "One question at a time.."

"Hmm.." Vanellope said, "Biggest question is 'What's in the basement?', yeah.."

"Ever hear of something called the Necronomicon?" Ash asked in a creepy tone with a smile, "It's the book of the dead.. Legend says that it was written by the Dark Ones themselves.. Bound in human flesh, inked in blood.. It contains prophecies, funerary incantations, and demon resurrection passages.."

"Cool," Vanellope said with a smile, "So have you read it?" _Well that's where the undead apocalypse stems from, I would suspect.._

* * *

"Hmm. So that's where Sarge ran off to so suddenly when the arcade first closed.." Garret said, "We were wondering about that." _Guess she figured she didn't need our help.._ _Guess it doesn't really hurt anything if he got the 'Jet treatment'._

"So you're taking care of Charley then?" Minty asked. _So you're like a dad now or something? Or maybe a big brother.._

"Yeah, pretty much," Jet said with a smile. _I may as well give him some semblance of a normal life._

"It's nice to meet you, Miss," Charley said with a smile. _I could get used to being surrounded by all these pretty ladies._

Minty laughed and said, "Oh you can call me Minty." _Must resist urge to hug. Now's not a good time.._

"So you plan to run an ice cream shop," Leon said, "Have you put any thought into what kind of flavors you'll offer? I've always been partial to Rocky Road.." _May as well have a normal conversation. No need to dredge up the past, even if it was just a couple of hours ago._

"Well it wouldn't be an ice cream shop without Rocky Road, would it?" Charley beamed.

"I'll have to come by when it's open then," Leon said with a smile.

"You'll have cherry flavor too, won't you, Charley?" Jubileena asked sweetly, "Oh, my name is Jubileena." _Well the problem is resolved apparently. Not so sure how Jet can feel safe being with the person who tried to kill him just a couple of hours ago.. Though I guess if King Candy fixed him then there's nothing to worry about, just like it was in Jet's case.._

"You betcha," Charley said with a smile. _I'll have to keep that one in mind._

"And mint chocolate chip," Minty beamed. _The best flavor on the planet._

"Of course," Charley said happily.

"How about vanilla with peanut butter and chocolate chunks?" Garret asked, "What? It's a good flavor!" He smiled confidently. _If only they had it, they would know._

"That's quite specific, Mister," Charley said with a smile, "Sounds good though!"

"You can call me Garret," he said with a smile.

"What about you, Crumbelina?" Charley asked. _Probably cookies n' cream._

"Cookies n' cream," Crumbelina said with a laugh, "I'm sure at least some of you guessed **that** already."

"Yep.." Jet said with a smile, "I'm boring and like chocolate.. You two have been quiet for a while, how about you?"

Rancis cleared his throat softly and said, "I actually prefer chocolate too."

"Strawberry, of course," Taffyta said with a smile. _I was dedicated to disliking the kid but it's kind of __hard now.._

* * *

It was finally Luke's turn to be separated back into two characters. As the 'inner Luke', was released tension filled the air as they stared each other down.

"Now take it easy, kids," Han said smugly. _Are they seriously about to fight?_

"Wouldn't be the first time a fight broke out here, man.." Bobby said casually. _I expected it to happen once they separated.._

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Obi-Wan said jokingly as he sipped his drink.

"How are we going to settle this?" Luke asked, "By the way, I call dibs on the name Luke."

"Urgh.. I should have thought of that," 'not Luke' said.

"I believe there is room for compromise here," Anakin said with a mischievous smile.

"I agree," Ani said with a mischievous smile.

"Interesting proposition," Ben said, "But how do you suggest we go about it?" _This is getting confusing.._

"That's a good question," Obi-Wan said, "How about both of their names change?"

"What? No way!" both Lukes said.

"How about we just extend the name for one of you?" Han Solo asked, "One of you could be Luuke." _I'll just go by my first and last name.. __Rolls off the tongue._

"Well that's not **as** bad.." Luuke said with a sigh.

"Good, because I already called dibs," Luke said with a smile. _There's still the matter of Emi to resolve.. He can forget about having her._

* * *

"Do you really think he has what it takes?" Calhoun asked with her arms crossed, "Taking care of a child who could have been a murderer is a hard responsibility. Even **without** taking into account the murder bit." _I'd like a bit of assurance here.. At least Jet was remorseful. The kid didn't really seem all that fazed._

"Now, now, ahaha!" King Candy said with a smile while waving his hands around, "There's no need for concern, I assure you! He doesn't remember a thing about the code rooms, much less than Jet remembers. And the only way he could even imagine attacking anyone would be throwing ice cream at them since that's what I replaced his acid throwing ability with." _The kid was surprisingly good at modifying code, accomplishing something like that to begin with.._

"How did he manage something like that anyways?" Calhoun asked, "Throwing acid.. Who does that?"

"He replaced the water in a water balloon with acid from one of the 'rivers' in Dragon's Lair," King Candy said, "Very clever the way he programmed the balloon itself to not be corroded by it.." _Of course it wasn't as efficient as it could have been.. But it's gone now, as it __**should**__ be.._

"But he **is** just a regular child now, right?" Felix asked sincerely. _I would hate for Charley to end up going Turbo again by some rare chance.._

"Absolutely," King Candy said, "To begin with, if he had ice cream all along he probably wouldn't have been so vengeful. It's in his code, you know.. He was programmed to aggressively seek out ice cream and fight anyone getting in his way of it. If only he knew Sugar Rush had ice cream all this time he might not have attacked Jet at all.. As for what happened to Han and Leia, well.. I think we can imagine why **that** happened." _Doesn't every child want parents to care for them?_

"I think it'll be just fine!" Felix said with a smile while straightening his hat, "If anyone can understand Charley, it's Jet.." _They shared the same game for years. Did similar things.. Yeah. It makes perfect sense._

"Alright," Calhoun said with a sigh, "It went well with Jet. I guess I can give the kid the benefit of the doubt.." _But I'll keep my wits about me around him.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ash is of course directly based off of the character from Evil Dead. Just as the description of the game is. Except for the addition of glowsticks, mind you. I just wanted the kids to have some light in the dark forest so they didn't get lost ;).

The Star Wars characters can be a bit confusing, haha.. Here's something you may not know. There was actually a clone of Luke named Luuke. Just not in the movies. I have no idea what I would call the second Leia, haha. Leia Solo?

Scotty is the second zombie. The one escorting little Taffyta, Rancis, and Crumbelina. Little Minty and Jubileena are just being quiet in the cabin.


	48. Chapter 48

"Have I read it?" Ash scoffed and wryly said, "Every day before bed."

"Awesome," Vanellope said with a grin. _This guy's pretty funny._

"So.. What brings you kids to a game such as this?" Ash asked, "I'm sure it's not for sunshine and rainbows."

"We were here to play hide and seek," little Minty said cautiously. _He's even dirtier than Ralph.._

Ash laughed and said, "I see. Well this is the place for it. You should be a little more careful though, it's easy to get lost here.." His face shifted to reveal a hint of concern. "This **is** all of you, right?" _First real visitors in who knows how long. I'd hate for anything to happen to them._

"Yeah, this is all of us," Ralph said calmly, "There were three others with us, but the other guy escorted them to the exit since one of them wasn't feeling well." _Well, technically that's not a lie. More like Taffyta was scared out of her wits though._

Ash looked over to Harold as if to ask which other guy Ralph meant.

"Scotty," Harold said plainly. Ash nodded.

"Well!" Ash said happily while motioning with his hands to offer them a seat on the couch, "I suppose introductions are in order. The name's Ash Williams. But.. Just call me Ash." _No one can know my name is Ashley._ "You gonna introduce yourself?" He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and looked over to Harold.

"Already did on the way here," Harold said plainly.

Ralph cleared his throat and said, "I'm Ralph. Wreck-It Ralph.. From the game Fix-It Felix Jr. I'm a wrecker by trade." He leaned against the wall opposite to Ash. _I'd rather not take up the entire couch. The kids can have it._

"Are you by any chance the guy that was yelling the other day?" Ash asked, "Something about missing people?"

Ralph chuckled and said, "Yeah, that was me. Nothing to worry about though. We found them.." _Well, they weren't lost in the first place._

"I'm president Vanellope Von Schweetz," she said excitedly as bowed slightly, "I'm from Sugar Rush, a candy themed kart racing game." She glitched to Ralph's shoulder and sat down.

"I'm Minty Angelcake," little Minty said nervously then gave Vanellope a concerned glance. _There's no reason to call me Candlehead in this situation, right?__ It's bad enough that's what my name is on the roster._ "I'm another racer from Sugar Rush." She smiled slightly.

Vanellope nodded in understanding. _Okay, I'll remember that._

"I'm Jubileena Bing-Bing," she said while fighting the urge to sigh. _So many people around here.._ "Another racer from Sugar Rush."

Ash nodded. _I kind of figured those three were from the same game. This last one though.._ Ash eyed Vannie with a smile.

"That brings us to me," Vannie said with a smile as she rested herself against Ralph as if to say she's taken by him, "I'm **princess** Vanellope Von Schweetz from the sequel to Sugar Rush. Though I've adopted the nickname Vannie to cut down on confusion." _Don't get any ideas now, __Ash. W__ouldn't want you to get hurt. _She beamed at Ralph.

Ralph beamed right back at her. _You're enjoying this. But I guess I am too._

Ash nodded. _Well so much for that idea. _"I had a feeling you two had to be related somehow. I can't quite place what it is.." He smiled weakly.

Vanellope laughed and said, "I wonder what it could be."

"It's a real mystery," Vannie added.

* * *

"So, Jet," Minty said with a warm smile, "We're headed to the beach in Hero's Duty tomorrow and we were wondering if you'd come along with us." _I suspect you need a day to relax, even though you seem fine._ "Oh, that doesn't mean just you. All of us." _I should have worded that better somehow._

"Y-yeah," Jubileena said, "You should come with us this time. Charley too." _The number just keeps going up._

"The beach, huh?" Jet asked with a smile, "That sounds like fun. What do you think Crumbelina?" _I was wondering about the change in outfits. And their hair does look a bit wet as well._

"As long as you're going," Crumbelina said sweetly, "We did get you some swimwear earlier.." _I still can't believe I had the nerve to go earlier. But it's not like I could say no either. I'd have to explain why.. But I didn't have to have fun.._

"Oh really?" Jet asked with a hint of surprise, but didn't overthink it, "So how does it look?"

"That reminds me," Rancis said, "You had left it in Taffyta's kart earlier, Crumbelina." _I'm too lazy to go grab it right now.._

"It's just some blue swim shorts and a white t-shirt," Taffyta said, "We couldn't come up with anything better." She laughed. _Three people it took to come up with that._

"Sounds like something I would have picked," Jet said with a laugh, "So is that what you guys were up to earlier then?" _Glad they had fun instead of wasting their time worrying about me.. __No. __I need to stop thinking like that.._

"Y-yeah," Crumbelina said miserably.

"Hey, come on.." Jet said while rubbing his hand along her back, "I'm glad you didn't choose to be miserable waiting for me alone." _I can about imagine she was nearly forced to by the situation though._

Charley nodded subtly. _It's harder __for others __to argue when you __spin things__ that way. I should make note of this._

_You're too nice to me. _Crumbelina sighed._ And here I was telling him not to throw himself a pity party just the other day. Look at me.._

"So what was it like in there, Jet?" Leon asked, "In Dragon's Lair, I mean.." Everyone's attention turned to him. _Hard to imagine this guy was controlling Loya for a few months.. He doesn't seem the type. It's weird._

* * *

"Well I thank you for your hard work, King Candy," Felix said with a smile, "I don't know where we'd be without your assistance." _It's a real shame what Turbo did to your counterpart from the original Sugar Rush back then.._

"Oh, don't mention it," King Candy said with his usual laugh while jumping up in excitement and waving dismissively, "It's nice to have my skills put to use, you know.." _I wonder what Jet will ask for next.. That reminds me I s__till need to__ find a suitable place for the chefs' __restaurant and Charley's ice cream shop._

"Well I think we ought to be on our way," Calhoun said, "I'm getting a bit peckish."

"Oh, please!" King Candy said excitedly, "Why don't I have Spicy Jill cook us up something? I've been in the code room practically all day."

"We wouldn't want to intrude.." Felix said sheepishly. _Although food fit for a king sounds delicious.._

"Nonsense!" King Candy said with a laugh, "I insist, come now." He waved as they finally left the Fungeon. _I wonder what she'll cook up this time.._

* * *

"Well, now that that's over with, I'll be off.." Luke said as he slowly got up off his stool.

"And just where are you going?" Luuke asked, still not satisfied with his 'new name'. _Is he by any chance.._

"I'm going see my girlfriend, of course," Luke said confidently, "I told her I'd be back as soon as possible, after all." _That's right. __**My**__ girlfriend. It was __**me**__ talking to her, holding all this time.._

"I'll race you there!" Luuke said as he sprinted out the bar. _I'm not about to give up without a fight. He may have been in control, but it was __**my**__ idea to date her in the first place._

Luke said nothing and chased Luuke to the exit of E-Z Livin' and boarded the train before it left.

"I'll fight you over her if that's what it takes.." Luke hesitantly pulled out his light saber. _If you want her you'll have to go through me.._

"Look who's getting all nervous," Luuke said as he hesitantly pulled his out as well. _Well this escalated quickly.._

"You say that but you're.." Luke sighed and put his light saber away then sat down, "This is stupid.." _What would I tell Emi if one or both of us died because we fought over her? Well if both of us died I wouldn't be able to tell her anything, but still.._

"Y-yeah.." Luuke said with a sigh and put his light saber away and sat down across from him, "But what are we going to do about this?" _It's not like I hate him or anything.._

"That's exactly the problem," Luke said, "I suppose we can figure something out after we talk to Emi. Let's let her make that decision, deal?" _Even if I may not like the decision in the end.. At worst she might not want either of us. How messed up would that be?_

"That's the most reasonable thing you've said all day," Luuke said. _At least like this we've got even odds. Well, no.. It's still in his favor._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm **still** not quite sure what to do with the Lukes..


	49. Chapter 49

Ralph's group talked with Ash and Harold, and Scotty for a while when he came back, then decided it was about time to go.

"I still haven't even eaten yet," Ralph said with a laugh.

"Tut-tut," Vannie said "Shame on you, Ralph. You should have said something sooner."

"Well come on, what did you expect me to say?" Ralph said jokingly. _It's not that big a deal. __And I said it just now, didn't I?_

"I would expect you to say 'I'm hungry', for one," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes and patting his head softly. _Not so difficult._

"So what's it like out there anyways?" Ash asked, "I always get dragged back to this cabin one way or another." He laughed embarrassedly.

"I was wondering why I'd never seen you before," Ralph said, "You're the kind of guy that would stand out. Not that I'm one to talk."

"I'd make a scene if that weren't the case," Ash said wryly.

"What do you mean by you get 'dragged' back here?" little Jubileena asked.

"If I ever try to leave, roots or something, I don't know.." Ash said, "Anyways they grab me by the legs and drag me back, that's all."

"That sounds horrible.." little Minty said worriedly. _So he's __**never**__ been out of this place? __**Ever**__?_

"..You get used to it," Ash said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"So how tough are these roots?" Ralph asked, "I'm guessing you've tried numerous times to break them once they got hold of you." _I'd like to see those roots try to stop __**me**__. Actually no I wouldn't.._

"Well yeah, I'm not one to just sit back and take something like that," Ash said dryly, "The shotgun is worthless for that task." _Chainsaw is worthless as well._

"Well I've got an idea," Vanellope said with a sly grin, "How about I glitch you out of those roots when they grab you?"

"Glitch? What's that?" Ash asked. _That what she did earlier? _"If it gets me out of here for a while, I don't see why not.."

"Well it's a long story," Vanellope said dismissively, "But basically it's short-range teleportation." _At least that's what I use it for now._

"Groovy," Ash said with a raised eyebrow, "Let's try it. That may just work."

They left the cabin.

"Alright, so how is this going to work?" Ash asked. _I hope this works. __This will be a first for me, whatever the hell happens.._

"Alright, well first, where do the roots start grabbing you?" Vanellope asked, taking this seriously, "I'll need to be touching you, maybe carrying me on your back would be best in this situation.. _He's likely to fall forward if the roots grab him.. __He'd better not fall on __**me**__._

"I get about halfway there before it happens," Ash said. _It's a shame, but the closest I ever am to the exit is at the start of the game.._

The others just stood there silently exchanging glances as the two planned. Ralph was especially amused to see Vanellope in her element.

"Alright, well just be ready to get up and run if they knock you down," Vanellope said seriously_._

"Got it.." Ash said before becoming more serious, "And thanks, kid.." _Even if this doesn't work.._

"Yeah, well save that for when we've got you out of here," Vanellope said with a confident smirk. _He's kind of like a glitch himself.. Being stuck in his game like this.._ Ash nodded and Vanellope glitched onto his back.

"Hold me up a bit, okay?" Vanellope said as she slipped down slightly, "I ain't got the best grip in the world.." _I just have to put up with it for a little while._

Ash rolled his eyes and put his arms behind his back to support her. "Like this?" he asked with an inaudible sigh. _Would I have to go through this every time I leave the game? Could I count on them coming get me again even if this does work?_

"That will do.." Vanellope said in a regal tone before continuing in her normal voice, "Now, whenever you're ready." She gave Ralph a confident smirk and winked. _I know this is all too amusing to you, Ralphie._

"Okay.." Ash said, "Well, hold on tight little miss." He smirked and took off.

Ralph and the others ran ahead a bit, still keeping an eye on them as they kept the area dimly lit for them with the soft glow of glowsticks. Sure enough, about halfway between the cabin and exit, roots sprung up from the ground and pulled Ash down.

Not missing a beat, Vanellope quickly glitched them forward out of their grasp. Ash scrambled to his feet just as another set of roots grabbed glitched them forward again.

It took a few times for Ash to fully get to his feet due to the roots constantly pulling him down. Vanellope eventually got fed up and ended up glitching them forward several times in quick succession until they were practically at the exit already.

"What is **with** these roots?!" Vanellope asked angrily. She was covered in leaves and bits of mud from when Ash ran straight into a pit he didn't see in time to avoid. Her clothes especially were given the mud treatment. _Great, now __**I**__ need a __bath. _"Just get us to that tunnel and we should be good."

Ash cursed in his head and ran past the crate of glowsticks and headed inside the tunnel out of breath. "I.. I made it.." he choked. _I'm at the exit.. What excuse do the developers even have for leaving glowsticks out here? It'd make more sense if I had a flashlight, wouldn't it? Sure I toss a few here and there during gameplay but still..  
_

"Nice work there, kid," Ralph said with a grin, as she glitched back to his chest. He gently wiped a few leaves out of her hair and a small chunk of mud off of her cheek. _You did good._ He took a deep breath. _Still not used to all this running._

"You did good," Vannie said with a small laugh. _So much mud, haha._

"My hair must be a mess.." Vanellope breathed and smiled.

"Who doesn't love a brat with dirty hair?" _I still remember when I first said that.._

"That was awesome, Vanellope!" little Minty said excitedly. _That's our president!_

"You were great," little Jubileena said with a shy smile. _I have to admit, that was pretty cool.._

"I'm out!" Ash danced in place. _Well technically not yet._ "So where does this train lead? What's it like out there? Are the other games so strict about getting out?"

"Woah there, Ash," Vanellope said with a laugh, "One question at a time.."

* * *

"Well," Jet said with a sigh, "It was definitely rough.. It was a miracle that we all got out alive."

"He's not exaggerating," Charley said, "To begin with it's hard for even Dirk to make it through with just one try. He's the guy you play as in the game. And then I added a few more monsters."

"Yeah.." Jet said, "Well I can't comment on the whole game, since we took shortcuts that Ralph made for us. But the sky was purple and cloudy.." Jet continued explaining what he saw in Dragon's Lair.. "And then Charley took control of me.." He looked at Charley not sure what exactly to add on that.. _I shouldn't be too specific.._

Charley sighed and said, "You gotta understand what **I** was put through.. When his brother made my game get unplugged I couldn't do what I was programmed to do. Ever.. It's.. not a good feeling.." _The anxiety.. The __thirst.._ "Only reason I tried to kill the others was because they were helping Jet." _Though I __**was**__ having fun with that. __A lot of fun.._

"Don't blame him, okay?" Jet said, "I know exactly how it is being programmed for something and not being able to do it.."

"I just wish I knew sooner there was ice cream in Sugar Rush," Charley said as he slumped down and rested his head on his arm, "I thought it was just decoration.." _Would have fixed everything.. Almost.._

"Well you're not going to do that again, are you?" Taffyta asked sincerely. _Well the obvious answer is no.._

"No, of course not.." Charley said sincerely, "I.. This is what I wanted from the start, more or less.." _I didn't expect Jet to actually feel that way.. It's easy to say words even if you don't mean them._

"That's good enough for me.." Garret said as he ran his fingers through his hair. _I'm not about to stay mad at a kid. Hell, I'm not even mad at Jet anymore, for what it's worth. __I wonder what Loya's thinking about now though. I'm sure he knows at least some of what happened by now since he was with Calhoun yesterday._

* * *

Calhoun sighed as she sat uncomfortably at the table next to Felix. _I never expected to be eating with King Candy.. It was only just the other day that his name was nothing more than a reminder of what happened to Sugar Rush._

"It'll take a little while, but it's worth it, I assure you," King Candy laughed gleefully.

"Right.." Calhoun said dryly. _Well at least he's not a bad person.._

Felix was all smiles throughout the meal. He complimented Spicy Jill's cooking and talked about the state of affairs in the arcade while Calhoun sat silently watching the two talk.

And then they finished eating. Calhoun sighed. _Well that's finally over.. Most awkward-yet-delicious meal I've ever had. Can we go now?_ She glanced over to Felix with a forced smile. _He can always tell.._

"R-right," Felix said with a goofy grin, "Well, I do hate to eat and run like this, but I promised Gene I'd fix up his house.." _We're leaving, __Tammy__. Hang in there._

"Oh, don't worry," King Candy said with a laugh, "It was nice having the two of you. Perhaps another time." _I suppose I should get back to work.. Where to put them though? __I've got a real case of.. builder's block. _He laughed to himself.

Felix and Calhoun left the castle and boarded her cruiser then headed for the exit of Sugar Rush 2.

"It wasn't **that** bad, was it?" Felix asked with a laugh.

"You know I don't have a lot of patience for that kind of thing," Calhoun said with a sigh, "The food was good though, at least." _If I have to hear one more ahaha or uhuhu.._ She shuddered and rested her hand on Felix's head before softly pulling him a bit closer as they neared the exit.

"I was surprised as well," Felix said, "Jaminy. Talk about food fit for a king.."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ash is another one of those really fun characters to write. You can expect to see more of him throughout the story, that's for certain..


	50. Chapter 50 - End of Day 4 - Part 1

Ash anxiously boarded the train with Ralph and the others and headed for Game Station West for the first time. His legs bounced up and he nervously tapped his feet. There were knowing looks all around as they silently watched him work out whatever was going on in his head.

Just before he got out of the gateway to his own game he stared wide-eyed at the shiny marble floor and the outlet gateways to the other games. "Groovy," he said. He was awestruck. _Everything is so __**clean**__.._

As he walked through the threshold of Undead Apocalypse 3 he was met with an alarm.

"What the hell?" Ash asked as he looked around nervously, soon greeted by what he could only assume was a being of pure energy.

"Relax," Ralph said with a laugh, "Nothing to worry about."

"Hey there," Alex said with a smile, extending his hand for a handshake, "My name is Alex, the surge protector of Game Station West."

"Groovy," Ash said as he cautiously shook Alex's hand, "My name is Ash, Ash Williams."

Alex nodded as he pulled a clipboard out and flipped through some pages, which made Ash glance over to Ralph.

"It's normal, since you're coming out here for the first time," Ralph said with a nod.

"I'm sorry, but that name doesn't seem to be on here, is that your full name?" Alex asked, "It's for our records, sorry."

Ash sighed deeply and scratched his head. _Is there no avoiding this? What kind of police state are we living in?_ "Alright,** fine**.. My name is Ashley James Williams.."

"Ashley?" Vanellope asked. She and Vannie laughed. _Sorry, that's just rich._

Ash nodded irritably, but didn't say anything. _Oh yeah, sure, it's real funny._

"Come on, there's nothing wrong with his name," Ralph said forcing down the smile that was forming on his face.

"Alright," Alex said regretfully as he nodded and wrote something down on the clipboard, "Sorry about that, Ash.. If you have any questions about the arcade, feel free to ask."

"Will I have to go through this every time I leave my game?" Ash asked, still feeling the humiliation on his face after having his actual first name revealed. _It's bad enough I had to hear it growing up.._

"No, there's no worries there," Alex said with a weak smile, "As I said, we just needed to confirm it for our records."

"It's no big deal, Ashley," Vanellope said with a mischievous grin.

"**Please** call me Ash.." he said with a sigh as he planted his face into his palms for a second before running his hands through his hair. _My hero, ladies and gentlemen._

"Ah, I'm just messin' with ya," Vanellope said with a laugh.

"Alright, so since Ralphie here is hungry," Vannie said, "Why don't we go bring you out to eat somewhere? I don't know if you've eaten or not.."

"That sounds good," Ash said, happy to change the subject, "So what kind of food joints are there around here?"

"Well, there's Burger Time," Vannie began listing off places, "That's where we went earlier.. There's Sugar Rush 2's Cafe DiCaramello, really good food.. E-Z Livin' has a place, I'm sure, hmm.." _We haven't really been to that many places yet.. It would be a bit awkward bringing him to the castle, though I think I might have a talk with dad about Ash not being able to leave his game on his own.._

"I've never been to this cafe place," Ralph said, "Is that run by Crumbelina's family by any chance?" _I__sn't that her last name?_

"Yep," little Minty said with a smile, "The place is in our game too, but isn't that place mostly just coffee, tea, and sweets?" _I've been there a __lot with Taffyta and Rancis. And Mom and Dad too.._

"They expanded their menu a few years ago in our game," Vannie said with a smile.

"Okay, so let's go there," Ash said, trying to mask his eagerness to go somewhere, anywhere, "Sounds interesting." _Candy themed and kart racing, right? __When's the last time I had some candy? Have I ever?_

Alex went about his job seeing that he was no longer needed. The six went to Sugar Rush 2, the zombies had opted to stay behind in their game.

"Try not to pass out from all the bright colors," Vanellope teased, "It'll be quite a shock after living in a cabin surrounded by a dark forest."

"Roger that," Ash said while rolling his eyes. Finaly, they walked directly across from his game's gateway and over one, which was where Sugar Rush 2 was located, then went inside. "So these places all have train ride entrances?"

"Well ours used to be different, having karts you drive inside," Vannie said as they sat in the train to Sugar Rush 2, "But someone complained after crashing and it got replaced with this." She sighed. _Such a diaper baby whoever it was._

After a short ride they finally got inside, Ash shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight, seeing it for the first time since his game was first plugged in.

"Okay, so you weren't kidding," Ash said as he squinted, letting his eyes slowly adjust, "It's more.. what's the word.. eccentric than I expected."

"If you think this is nuts, you should see Hero's Duty," Ralph said with a laugh, "It used to be way more dangerous as recent as just a few days ago. I remember the first time I went there." He laughed again. "Nearly game overed." _But I owe the world to that game for what happened after.._

"Yeah, well let's just take this one game at a time.." Ash said, still taking in this strange new atmosphere. The sweet smell of chocolate and candy canes, among other things permeated the area.

"That's a good way to look at things," Ralph said with a nod. _Clyde would be proud that our motto is being used by Good Guys too. Of course it's just a coincidence._

"So do we walk?" Ash asked, "This is a racing game you said, right?" _I don't really see anything resembling buildings from here except for that castle..  
_

* * *

"I think we should probably go get Charley settled in," Jet said with a sigh, "It's been a long day." He suddenly stopped to think, which didn't go unnoticed by Crumbelina who knew exactly what it was. _I guess I won't be staying at Crumbelina's house anymore.. I wonder if she'd be willing to move into my house..  
_

"That's a good idea," Crumbelina said with a smile, "We'll see you guys tomorrow, alright?" _After these past few nights I rather stay with him, but bringing Charley home to see my mom would be a bit.._

"Sure thing," Taffyta said with a smile. _So glad to see things getting back to normal around here. Well, as normal as you can expect after everything we've been through._

Rancis slowly got up and went to Taffyta's kart and gave Jet his outfit for the next day which was in a white plastic bag with a pink T on it. "Make sure you come tomorrow, alright?" he said with a smile, "We missed you earlier." He shook Jet's hand. "I'm glad you made it back in one piece." _Don't get used to seeing me like this. I have an image to uphold._

"Me too!" Taffyta said with a smile. _I'd have been a total mess otherwise.. How did he worm his way into my heart anyways? I never thought I'd start to feel this way about anyone other than Rancis. Not that __**anyone**__ could replace Rancis, but Jet's about half as good, __which says a lot__._

Jet nodded once with a smile and waved, then sat next to Crumbelina in her kart, with Charley happily sitting in the back with his arms crossed.

"Do you even have a spare bedroom?" Charley asked after they drove off. _I didn't exactly look at every single memory._

"Yeah, there's a spare bedroom," Jet said with a laugh, "Wouldn't be that much of a house otherwise, right?" _I'm glad he wants his own room. Th__ere__ could have been a real problem __otherwise__. Awkwardness to the max.  
_

They arrived at Jet's house and showed Charley his room. There was little more than a bed, dresser, and end table.

"It's kind of empty," Charley said with a sigh. _It'll get fixed up eventually._

"Well, it's not like there was anyone living in here until now," Jet said with a laugh, "Just give it time, alright?"

"Yeah, alright.." Charley said, "I'm going to sleep for a while, if you don't mind." _That kart waking me __up earlier only made me more tired than before I went to sleep._

"Alright," Jet said with a smile, "Sleep tight and all that."

Charley got into bed as Jet turned out the light for him and closed the door. Despite it being daylight outside, the view from the window was a night sky. _Must be because the light's off.._

Jet and Crumbelina went into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Jet worked through his thoughts tirelessly, thinking about how to ask the question on his mind. Eventually he settled on, "Will you be staying here too?" He smiled warmly, hoping that would help her say yes. _I know you've at least started to get used to sleeping in the same bed as me.._

Crumbelina smiled shyly and said, "You can be so unfair, you know?" She laughed nervously. "I'd like that though." She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I just hope we can keep you out of trouble for more than a day.." _It's exhausting, being on this emotional rollercoaster.._

"No arguments there," Jet said softly as he slipped his fingers between hers, "I'll run out of opponents eventually, if there still are any.. I'll make sure to come back every time. As many times as it takes.." _It's the least I can do for the person who saved my soul.._

Crumbelina sighed and asked, "You're tired too, right?" _I could use a nice, long rest after today.._

"Yeah," Jet said with a warm smile, "I've been exhausted for a while now." _I could definitely use the sleep after today._

They went into his room, his fingers still interlocked with hers. Jet slowly flipped the switch to turn out the lights and closed the door, eliciting a sigh before they took off their shoes and socks.

Crumbelina's heart raced as Jet turned to her, still smiling warmly, eyes full of love. She felt as though her heart would melt. She gave him a warm smile as she walked closer to him and kissed him tenderly on the lips, then said, "I love you.." _Like it even needs to be said at this point._

Jet gently wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into another tender kiss before saying, "I love you too.." _More than I ever thought I could love someone._

Crumbelina bit her lip softly, her heart pounding in her throat. _I.._ "D.. Do you want to?.." she asked, barely above a whisper. _I do.._ She rested a hand on Jet's chest.

It took a second for Jet to fully understand the question, his heart began to race. His breath trembled as he traced the side of her face with his hand. "Y-yeah.." he said softly as he carefully led her backwards to his bed.

"Just keep quiet," Crumbelina whispered as she sat at the front edge of the queen sized bed while Jet locked the door.

They had sex as quietly as humanly possible. The two had eventually collapsed out of exhaustion with Crumbelina laying on top of Jet.

Crumbelina smiled and breathed a sigh of satisfaction as she kissed Jet tenderly on the lips once more. _Thank you.._

Jet smiled, caressing her cheek as he kissed her again. _You were wonderful._

They laughed quietly, knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

* * *

Felix sighed, unsure what to do with himself as he and Calhoun entered his game. _Today has just been one muddled mess.. Where do I begin to make sense of it all? I need a nice long sleep to sort this all out.._

"You okay there, pint-size?" Calhoun said, "You've gone quiet on me, which is unusual.."

"Oh, I'm just tired, is all.." Felix said with a sigh, "After all that mess in Dragon's Lair, and then that talk with Jet, King Candy and the others.. It's a lot to take in."

"That's understandable," Calhoun said, "And we did almost die a few times today." She laughed. "Not really anything new."

"It's a **bit** different when it can be permanent," Felix said with another sigh. _Although it's not as hard to get over since we've both experienced death in our own games before.._

"Quit sighing already," Calhoun said sternly, "Come on, since you're so tired." She lifted him up by the front of his shirt and carried him over her shoulder as if he were a jacket she didn't feel like wearing at the time.

"I **can** walk.." Felix said, sighing loudly before laughing. _This is one more thing that I love about you._ He kissed her on the cheek.

"Keep it up," Calhoun said with a smile.

"Yes ma'am.." Felix whispered into her ear lovingly.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The thing with Taffyta and Jet isn't going to go anywhere. It's just a fact of life that it's possible to have romantic feelings towards more than one person at a time. She's not going to act on those feelings, nor will she ever love Jet more than Rancis (not even close). I just thought I'd get that out there before people start to think otherwise.

Also, I did write a short M-rated scene for Jet and Crumbelina which I put up as a separate story called "Honeyglows With Lemon".

I didn't get to everyone in this chapter, at least not enough to finish off their day, but this and the other chapter I referred to will finish off Jet and Crumbelina's so they won't show up again until the next day starts, which will be soon regardless.


	51. Chapter 51 - End of Day 4 - Part 2

"Walk? What? Nooo!" Vanellope said with a laugh, "It's a racing game, remember?" _Oh! That stupid memory faded a bit, that's good. Ugh.. I kind of wish the whole thing would go away, but I definitely need to remember Ralph is my dad now._ She hugged Ralph's head as she sat on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but do you see any karts?" Ash asked, "That's all I meant." _I don't know what to think of this girl._

"Well we just gotta get some from the garage, is all," Vannie said as they started slowly walking down the rainbow road towards the nearest garage. _Hmm.. Two should be enough._

"Garage, right.." Ash said, "Makes sense." He looked up at the sky again, probably not the smartest thing to do. _Yep, that's definitely sunlight. I only ever get to see the crack of dawn at best._

"You'll go blind if you keep staring at it," little Jubileena said with a laugh.

"I know that," Ash said with a smile, "It's just been so long since I've actually seen it.."

"Well, I imagine you'll be able to get plenty of it soon," Ralph said warmly, "There's a couple of ways around your problem, some easier than others. _Easiest one would probably be having King Candy perform a bit of maintenance. Otherwise Ash could get temporarily turned into a glitch, not the best of ideas since we don't know how his game resets, and glitches can't leave their games. Definitely shouldn't go with that.. Hmm._

"Oh yeah?" Ash asked, "Like what exactly?" _I'm open to suggestions here._

"Well, the option with the biggest hassle would be us coming get you all the time," Ralph said, "That's a bit more time consuming.. But we could also ask Vannie's dad to come fix up your game's code a bit to let you leave while the arcade is closed. He seems to enjoy that line of work lately." _I won't even mention the glitch option, too risky. Shouldn't have even thought about it. What if he could never leave after that? And then he might not be able to even control it. I'm thinking about this too much._

"So you guys change your games' code?" Ash asked, "That's a bit risky, isn't it? What if you break something?" _I don't know about letting some guy.. king.. whatever, come and fiddle with my game.._

"Well there's always the option to undo the changes," Vannie said, "It's done us a world of good, hasn't it, Vanellope?"

"Yeah," Vanellope said with a smile, "For a while we were combined into the same person because our names were the same. King Candy fixed it for us." _The one from my game, but he supposedly did it wrong somewhat._

"So he must be your dad then.." Ash said as they finally got to the garage.

"Well, not technically," Vanellope said as Ralph lowered himself so she could enter the code for her kart into the garage's code panel.

The doors raised up revealing the kart she made on her first visit to the game. The pedals were slightly raised, as it was built with her height in mind. It had a teal icing paint job with pink lining, topped off with orange and purple star-shaped sprinkles.

"He's my adoptive dad.." Vannie said.

"Just yours?" Ash said, "So then who takes care of little tyke here?" _Is there no King Candy in the other one? _He looked at Vanellope and the kart. _She must have decorated it herself.._

"I do," Ralph said with a smile as he ruffled Vanellope's hair, "It's kind of a long story.."

"Sounds interesting," Ash said, "Being from a different game must be kind of tough for that kind of thing though, right?" _Do they all live with each other in one game? Alternate houses?_

"We manage," Vanellope said happily, "So are we gonna go or not?"

"I think we ought to get a second kart.." Ash said. _There's no other way._

"Adoi," Vanellope said wryly, "Ralph's riding in the back, you can take this seat." She patted the passenger seat to her right. _The big lug takes up most of the back all on his own._ _And this way Ralph won't have to worry about him staring at Vannie, haha._

* * *

"I think it's about time we headed home too," Taffyta said with a smile as she stood up, "Early to bed, early to rise. Or something.." _The sooner today is over, the sooner we can all go to the beach again. This time doing it right.._

"Alright, see you tomorrow," Minty said happily. _I'm glad we finally got to spend time together again.. Tomorrow too!_

"Later," Jubileena added with a smile.

Leon and Garret just said bye.

"Stay sweet," Taffyta said with a wave as she and Rancis got into her kart then drove home.

As they got inside, Rancis asked, "So what do you really think of Charley?" _You were about ready to murder him before.. Well, at least watch it happen.._

Taffyta sighed and looked at him. She took her hat off and put it on a hat rack in the corner and said, "I don't know.. He seems like he won't be murdering anyone any time soon, so that's good." _What answer do you want from me?_

"That's it?" Rancis asked in disbelief. _There's got to be more._

"Well come on, he's a kid!" Taffyta said with another sigh, "It's true that his game was ruined because of Set, and that Jet was there. So I can kind of understand him wanting revenge for that." _I wanted revenge on the kid myself because of what he did to Jet too. _"It still doesn't mean that he should have thrown acid at him, or summon monsters to attack him or whatever. And especially not take over Jet's body after all that, as poetic as that revenge could have been.. I'm just glad that they came to an agreement, as strange as it may be."

"So do you still hate him?" Rancis asked. _I can't really say that I hate him, but it'll be a while before I consider trusting him. Ice cream aside.._

"I wanted to.." Taffyta said, "But I can't. Not completely at least. But he'll have to **earn** my trust." _It didn't take long for Jet though.. I wouldn't be surprised if I forgive him by tomorrow __even after saying that._ "I wonder just how sorry he is.. But what about you?"

"I don't really hate him.." Rancis said, "I mean, I can't trust him yet either, of course.. But I think Jet must have this under control, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to it." _They shared the same body, who knows what went on in there?_

"I guess you have a point about that," Taffyta said, "But you know, Charley does seem to be happy now. So maybe it will work out.." She yawned and wiped her eyes. "I'm going to sleep. You'll have to wait another time for tea." _Why'd you have to turn your old pet name for me into a euphemism? That's so like you._ She smiled to herself and shook her head as she turned away.

Rancis laughed and said, "Alright. I may as well go to bed now too though.." _No reason not to. Plenty went on today as it stands. Time to get some sleep to sort it all out.  
_

* * *

"Okay, so Jet's not a bad guy," Garret said a while after Taffyta and Rancis left. _I can admit that.. Still wondering how Loya will react though._

"Yeah, he's different than I expected.." Leon said as he scratched his neck, "I'm still annoyed about the whole incident in Hero's Duty, but he's definitely a better person now." _Who knows how Loya feels about this. __Maybe we should ask him._

"Kind of crazy though, right? Him adopting Charley.." Garret said, "Charley tried to kill him. And Sarge! Well she was there when the decision was made so I guess she's fine with it.. Felix of course must have forgiven him instantly. He's that kind of guy."

Jubileena laughed and said, "You can relax now. I'm sure King Candy made sure he's no more harmful than a small child should be. And if he's still got revenge on the brain for some reason after being given this chance, then Jet will just have to straighten him out." _Somehow I doubt it's necessary, judging by how Jet acted. He seemed confident that he could handle the responsibility._

"Yeah, he's a normal kid now," Minty said with a smile, "He's like a little Jet. I'm sure it will be fine." _I couldn't imagine being unable to race.._ "And he wants to open an ice cream shop, right? Why would he give that up?" _He may be a selfish kid, but I don't think he's stupid._

"I suppose that's true," Garret said, "I didn't really think about it like that.." _The kid has it made. He probably won't pull anything._

* * *

Vannie, little Jubileena, and little Minty all got into Vannie's kart and the group headed towards Cafe DiCaramello.

"So you're saying just anyone can make a kart if they want to?" Ash asked, hanging his arm out of the kart as Vanellope drove them to their destination. _I may have to do that at some point if I can leave my game any time I want eventually._

"Pretty much, yeah," Vanellope said, "I made this one myself a few days ago when this game got plugged in. That was before I found Ralph when he got lost." _In a sense.._

"**I** didn't get lost," Ralph said with a laugh, "My memory is what was lost. I was just hanging out with Vannie and King Candy at the time since I had nothing better to do." _And it's a good thing, too. I rather not think about what could have happened if some other nice guy met her first._

"Yeah. **You** got lost," Vanellope added emphasis, "You were still you, but how could you forget this adorable face?" _You made me cry, you know?_

"Hey, I still remembered kind of.." Ralph said, "I just.. It's hard losing your memory, okay?" _It was more like an odd familiarity.._

"So wait, you lost your memory?" Ash asked, "Is that a common occurrence?" _Well, not that much of what I've experienced until now is worth remembering._

"No.." Ralph said, "The game I'm from is 30 years old. It had a battery that lasted about 5 minutes or so to preserve highscores, but it doesn't work anymore. So when our game got unplugged due to the new surge protectors, it wiped my and Felix's memory." _Giving the abridged version here.._

"But luckily he got it back when he went back to **my** game," Vanellope beamed, "Of course it was a real headache. Literally. Every game you go to makes a backup copy of your memory. It updates every time you're there." _Of course getting the memories back is the headache._

"I see.. So who's Felix?" Ash asked, "Nevermind, stupid question. He's the one your game is named after, right?" _Almost forgot._

"Right," Ralph said, "He's the Good Guy, I'm the Bad Guy."

"You're a Bad Guy?" Ash asked, "Never would have guessed. Well, aside from the wrecking hands maybe."

"Yeah, us Bad Guys get a bad reputation around here," Ralph said, "It's a shame, because we're some of the nicest people when the arcade is closed." _30 years it took to make it this far. But it was totally worth the wait._

"Well you seem to be doing well for yourself at least," Ash said, "I'm sure you must have had it rough though, from the sounds of it." _I'm glad I'm a Good Guy.._

They finally got to the restaurant where Leon's group was **still** sitting and talking.

Minty stood up excitedly, that glint in her eye. _I spy with my little eye something beginning with three little Sugar Rush racers._

"Uh-oh," Vanellope said with a laugh, "Here she comes, brace yourselves." _The glomp queen._

Minty quickly and gently snatched up little Minty and hugged her. "Never gets old," she said with a smile.

"I'm happy to see you too," little Minty said happily, hugging her back.

"So what brings you guys here?" Minty asked, still holding little Minty. _Oh, right.._

"Ralphie's hungry," Vanellope said teasingly, "And we're showing Ash around since he's never left his game before." She turned to Ash and smirked. _Don't worry __**Ashley**__, your secret's safe with me. Unless never having left your game was also supposed to be a secret. Didn't seem like one._

"Is that a shotgun?" Leon asked with interest as he walked over, seeing it holstered on Ash's back. _Never actually saw one of those in person before. Looks pretty old too._

Jubileena sighed quietly, still sitting at the table. _The number is going up again. A lot.. Minty please don't invite so many people __to come with us tomorrow__._

Garret softly grabbed one of her hands. _Hang in there..  
_

"Yeah, this is my boomstick," Ash said jokingly, "The name's Ash." He shook Leon's hand. _Probably should have left it at home. The kids didn't seem to mind though. __Neither did security, oddly enough._

"I'm Leon," he said with a smile.

"I'm Minty," she said happily, "And over here we have Jubileena and Garret." She turned and looked at them. _I probably shouldn't talk about the beach.. Don't worry Jujube, I won't._ They waved.

"So I see you two started hanging out more.." Jubileena said. _Why does everything come out rude just because there's a few extra people around? Why can't I just smile and be happy like everyone else?_

"Yep!" little Minty said with a smile, "Taffyta, Rancis and Crumbelina were with us earlier too, but they went back already." _She seems uncomfortable. I guess it's the same for both of them.. Well 'my' Jujube is a little more relaxed.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** About that M-rated chapter I was referring to in the previous chapter, if you wanted to read it, it's up now as a separate story, "Honeyglows With Lemon".

This Ash subplot is lasting a bit longer than I expected it to, haha. I plan to continue it in the 'next day' as well, but so far I've not come up with a stopping point for it 'this day' (I will soon though, most likely tomorrow).


	52. Chapter 52 - End of Day 4 - Part 3

"So how's the food here?" Ash asked as they sat down. Ralph had to suck in his gut to fit. _May as well add a little conversation._

"It's good," Vannie said. _I did tell you earlier._

"..Alright, so let's see then," Ash said while raising his eyebrows briefly as he looked at the menu. _Not the greatest topic._

As if summoned, a waiter came out to take their orders.

_That was fast._ "I'll have a grilled roast beef panini on rye," Ash said, picking out the combination that sounded best to him while not spending too much time deciding. _I at least understand what I'm doing here. __They __**really**__ drive the point home with this menu that it's an Italian place though.._

"Just bring me whatever," Ralph said, "I'm not picky." _It's all Greek to me._

"The rest of us are good," Vanellope said with a smile, "We ate earlier." _Had I known we were coming here I'd have waited to eat._

The waiter nodded with a smile and went back inside.

"So how has your day been, Minty? Jubileena?" Vannie asked sweetly. _Jubileena's still nervous around people, I see.. I'm going to break that shell if you don't come out of it on your own. In the nicest way possible.._

"Oh it's been pretty fun," Minty said with a smile, "We.." She suddenly stopped. _Oops, sorry! _"We went to the beach earlier." _Don't specify. Don't specify! She wouldn't be interested in Sugar Beach, surely.._

"It was alright," Jubileena said, "Taffyta, Rancis, and Crumbelina left early though." _I'm about to hit myself. I already understand that it's all in my head. Why can't I just get over it already? Smile. Be nice._

"I'm surprised Crumbelina went at all," Ralph said, "I don't mean anything by that really. It's just that Jet was in Dragon's Lair earlier."

"She didn't want Taffyta and Rancis to worry," Jubileena said, "She tried to enjoy herself too, but I knew something was wrong." _Thanks Ralph, now I don't feel quite as bad by the way I talk around people. I still need to work on it._

"Did we miss something?" little Jubileena asked. _What are they going on about?_

"It's nothing," Vanellope said with a smile, "Stinkbrain and Jet went to take care of a problem child earlier in Dragon's Lair. _I knew he'd come back, but Crumbelina must have been a mess worrying about Jet._

"It didn't even take a half hour," Ralph said, "But it wasn't really a picnic." _I can tell you right now I'm never going back. Well I won't literally tell you, because I'm thinking this._

"So how did it go, anyways?" Vanellope asked with a smile.

Ralph breathed a heavy sigh. _How am I going to handle this? I'd rather not say that Jet killed the kid. That's a bit.._

"They were here not too long ago," Jubileena said in a slightly nicer tone, "Jet decided to adopt Charley. The kid wants to open an ice cream shop." She laughed slightly. _I guess if I practice it'll get easier. I still wish that the group was smaller, but there's nothing I can do about it without making anyone upset._

Ralph raised an eyebrow and asked, "Wait, what?" _Hang on. That doesn't make sense.._

"W-what?.." Jubileena asked, "Was it something I said?" _Was it too forced?_

Ralph cradled the bridge of his nose and asked, "Charley was here?" He looked at her. "Alive?"

"Y-yeah.." Jubileena said. _Back me up here guys._ "I see why you're confused now. Charley had taken control of Jet's body somehow, but Jet made him see reason after a while and King Candy split them back up." _I'm really not the best person to be explaining this.._

"That's right," Garret said, "Charley is harmless now. He won't be causing anymore trouble."

"Sounds like things are tough all over," Ash said in disbelief. _Where's that food?_

"It's not usually this bad," Vanellope said, "It'll settle down soon enough." _It's mostly Set's fault all this is happening. And he can't cause any more trouble where he's at._

Ralph and Ash's food arrived and they started eating while the others talked.

"By the way, I like the new outfits," Ralph said with a mouth full of spaghetti.

"Manners, Ralph," Vannie said, "You're setting an example." She glanced at Vanellope with a sly grin.

"You think so?" Leon asked proudly, "We got them here the other day." _You're not going to knock me out and steal my clothes, are you?_

"Yeah!" Minty said happily, "It looks good on you. It's so much better than being stuck in that armor all the time, right Leon?"

"You know it," Leon said with a smile.

"So how did you two meet?" little Minty asked her older counterpart. _Interesting choice. They look happy though._

"Hmm.." Minty said as she tried to think of how to word it, "Well, when the arcade owner left the first day we got plugged in, Jet's brother knocked me out and tied me up. So I'm told anyways. And then Jubileena scared him off and woke me up. Then.. Calhoun, was it? Anyways she asked Jubileena and I to bring Garret back to Hero's Duty for her since she was looking for Set.."

"Y-yeah! That's because um.. how should I say this.." Garret interjected nervously, "Well you see, I was freshly split off from Set at the time and he hit me over the head so I was out cold."

"Hmm.." Vanellope said, "You're hiding something! What is it?"

"Now, Vanellope," Ralph said, "Mind your manners."

"You're one to talk," Vannie said with a laugh.

Garret placed his hands on his face. "It's a secret," he said as he leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Well **anyways**," Minty said, "We brought him back to his game and Leon was guarding the code room while the others were looking for Set. So we came back here and cornered Jet when he was on the run, then he surrendered and got made a racer since he was cooperative."

"So **you're** the guys that caught Jet then," Ralph said, "We were about to go ourselves when we heard he was already caught."

"Who is Jet, anyways?" little Jubileena asked. _I'm missing some puzzle pieces._

"He's dating Crumbelina," Jubileena said, "He used to be a bad guy, but he's good now."

"He's got it rough because of what he did when he was a bad guy though," Ralph said, "Caused all sorts of problems." _Still shocked that he would only turn a new leaf once he was caught. He was obviously suffering the whole time. It's mind boggling. Then again I got fed up with my situation after 30 years so I guess I'm no one to judge.._

"That was mostly because of his brother Set though," Garret said, "Of course, **he** fared far worse. Not that I'll ever forget the trouble Jet has caused. But I'm willing to let it go since he's trying to make good."

"This is all so fascinating," Ash said bluntly, "So the arcade has that kind of history?"

"There's a lot of good mixed in," Ralph said, "But we've witnessed all the bad that was hidden beneath the surface you could say."

"For example my game was being controlled by this guy named Turbo for 15 years," Vanellope said with a hint of bitterness, "But then Ralph came along!" She smiled brightly.

"And you stole my medal," Ralph said with a laugh.

"You stole it first!" Vanellope said with a laugh.

"Yeah, well I had reasons too," Ralph said.

"The medal wasn't the only thing you stole," Leon said with his arms crossed, "I still haven't gotten an apology for that."

"Look, I'm sorry about that, okay?" Ralph said, "Things **had** to change for me, and I didn't see any other way. At least I hid you so you weren't seen." _And I didn't even knock you out. You ran into a wall._

"Woah woah," Ash said, "Slow down, I'm not catching everything here." _I'm sensing a bit of animosity. Am I getting in over my head here?_

"Yeah, what happened?" Minty asked. _Did Ralph do something to Leon?_

"He stole my armor and pretended to be me so he could get a medal from my game," Leon said with a sigh. _I shouldn't have even brought it up. It just came out._

"I needed a medal to prove to the other people in my game that I could be a Good Guy if I wanted to," Ralph said, "Of course I went about it the wrong way.." _I should have known better._ "And then things happened and I crashed one of their ships in Vanellope's game and she stole my medal."

"I thought it was a gold coin, which we use to enter races," Vanellope said solemnly. _I'd rather not think about what it was like back then, but I might as well get it all out in the open. _"I was desperate to race because it's in my code, but since Turbo had taken over and locked away everyone's memories, they all thought I was just a glitch, someone who shouldn't even exist, because he ripped apart the connections between me and the rest of the game." _15 years! _"He even went so far as to mess with their characters so that they wouldn't feel sympathy for me after they tried to help me a few times." _That's the most unforgivable thing he did._

"But it's alright now," Ralph said as he nudged Vanellope's arm lightly and smiled at her warmly, "Now I've got the coolest daughter in the world, don't I?" _Must be tough for her recalling that.._

Vanellope smiled. _Oh, you!_

"So this Turbo character.." Ash said, "What became of him?"

"He's dead," Ralph said, "It'd take longer to explain it all, but suffice it to say he couldn't help but go to his death on his own." _There's really no need to mention Cy-bugs. He's getting spooked enough as it is._

"It's not that common an occurrence, is it?" Ash asked, "Games getting taken over like that.. I know it happened to the Star Wars guys, since they told me all about it when they moved into my game.."

"Yes and no," Ralph said with a sigh, "In total there have been.. nine that I know of. Seven of which were done by the same two people, Jet and Set."

"So wait, Jet as in the one we were just talking about?" Ash asked in surprise. _And they let him __move as he pleases__?_

"If you met him you would understand," Minty said, "He's got a heart, he just made a long series of big mistakes that he's trying to make up for."

"Well, if you say so," Ash said doubtfully. _Makes me all the more hesitant to have someone fiddle with __**my**__ code._

"Trust me," Ralph said, "He won't be causing any trouble. I was just as doubtful as you yesterday before I got to know him better." _Well, and the day before that._

"I just hope you're right," Ash said, "I guess I'd have to meet him to understand. _I don't even know what to believe right now._

"Oh, we'd better go!" little Jubileena said, "Our parents are probably worried about us right now.." _So easy to lose track of time._

"Oh, that's right!" little Minty said. _I hope mom's not too worried.._

"We'll bring you home," Ralph said as he started to get up. _This chair could have been a little bit bigger._

"Well if you bring us to the gateway, we can take it from there," little Jubileena said, "This isn't the first time we leave our games."

"Yeah, I do it all the time," Vanellope said.

"We'd better head home too," Minty said, "I'd like to get some sleep before it's too late."

"I must be the odd one out," Ash said, "I usually go to sleep as soon as the arcade closes."

"Well you wouldn't be the only one who does that," Vanellope said, "but the majority usually wait a few hours."

"I used to go to sleep as soon as the arcade closed too," Ralph said, "Of course that all changed when I met Vanellope." _Always waking me up after sneaking in__to my little shack__.._

"He learned quick," Vanellope said with a laugh, "Because I'd just wake him up if he was trying to sleep." _It's fun to reminisce sometimes._

"Alright, so I guess I'll just uh.." Ash said, "I don't know." _I kind of don't want to go to my game so soon._

"You want me to have my dad fix it so that you can leave your game when you want?" Vannie asked, "He's pretty skilled at that sort of thing."

Ash sighed and said, "Yeah, I suppose.. Kind of nervous about that sort of thing after the conversation we just had.." _It's either that or rarely get a chance to leave the game at all._

"I can understand your reluctance," Vannie said, "but don't worry, you can trust him." _I suppose it __**is**__ kind of like putting your livelihood in the hands of someone you've never even met.._

"Yeah.." Ash said. _Well, what's the worst that can happen?_ "I'd still like to watch him do it at least."

"Fair enough," Vannie said with a laugh.

They escorted little Jubileena and Minty to the exit and then went to the castle, while Minty brought Leon to her house and Jubileena brought Garret to hers. King Candy agreed to help Ash out and the two went on their way immediately.

"No time like the present," King Candy said with a laugh as he and Ash sped off. It didn't help Ash's confidence in the slightest, seeing the one who would be doing the fixing, but he had already made the decision, for better or for worse.

* * *

"So what sort of conversation should we have today?" Minty asked with a smile as she leaned back into the couch she and Leon were sitting on, "We finally have time all to ourselves." She stuck out her tongue. _I wonder if I should let him sleep over again. I don't see how it could hurt._

Leon puffed out his cheeks as he breathed a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure.. Jubileena was pretty stressed a while ago.. Is there anything we can do to help her to relax a bit? I understand it's her phobia that does it, but there's got to be something.."

"I wish I knew," Minty said with a frown, "It's not exactly a phobia, really. She's not scared of people, she just doesn't want to be around them so she's kind of mean to them without really meaning to be. She's just always been like that no matter what I try. The only thing I can figure would help is her really getting to know every single person that comes talk to us so that she's more comfortable with them. I don't like the idea of King Candy messing around with her head to **fix** her. She's not broken.." _Besides, she wants to get better on her own terms._

"I wasn't going to suggest that either," Leon said, "The implications are unpleasant." _I don't think King Candy himself would be too enthused to do that either. Not that I've spoken with him or anything._

"She is getting better though," Minty said, "She may not be over it yet, but she was talking to Ralph easily enough. _Although it was still a little on the rough side._

The conversation went on, not really going anywhere and Leon eventually stayed the night again. Just nothing.. extra.

* * *

Jubileena sighed heavily as she dropped down onto her couch like a ton of bricks.

"That bad, huh?" Garret asked as he joined her, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Probably not, sorry.." Jubileena said, "All I can do is keep trying. There's no other way." _I was able to manage earlier kind of._

"I wish I knew what to say in this kind of situation.." Garret said, "I'm kind of useless at this kind of thing."

"You're a lot better than you think," Jubileena said as she ran her fingers through his hair, "Otherwise I wouldn't still be dating you, right?" _Don't take that the wrong way, please._

"That's pretty blunt," Garret said with a laugh, "But I guess that's true. I'm glad to be held in such high esteem." _I'm pretty lucky she even gave me a chance all things considered. I guess I'm just that awesome._

"I don't know how that happened," Jubileena said, allowing a smile to creep onto her face, "I guess we just both lucked out." She leaned her head on Garret's shoulder. "Just don't change who you are right now and I'll be perfectly happy with you." _Now who's the one being sappy?_

"You don't have to change who you are to make me happy either," Garret said as he placed his hand on her head, "I know it's what you want, so I won't say you shouldn't, but I like that part of you too somehow. You don't take crap from anyone." _I'm not just saying it._

"That's sweet," Jubileena said, "but I'm definitely going to be nicer to people. At least until they give me lip. I should do at least that much." _Now if we could just slow down with how many people come talk to us, that'd be great._

"I can understand that," Garret said with a faint laugh, "Whatever you decide, I'll be there with you."

"You'd win a sappiness competition," Jubileena said with a wide smile, "But I guess that's another thing I like about you.." _I get the feeling most guys would be too macho to say that kind of thing. Maybe not macho.. What's the word?_

"I should probably head back.." Garret said regretfully, still planted firmly into the couch. _I don't really want to leave, but I do need some sleep. I couldn't possibly ask her if I could stay over, nor could I if she offered.._

"Well you don't have to go.." Jubileena said, "I mean, I'm still not ready to have sex, but you can stay over if you want. I'm not **that** shy.." _Honestly I don't know if I'm making a wise decision or not __knowing my dependence on cold showers lately__. But he wouldn't dare do anything I didn't want him to, I can be sure of that __much._

_Okay, nevermind._ "I suppose it can't hurt.." Garret said with a nervous laugh, "But only since you offered. _I'm too weak-willed to say no apparently._

He stayed over and ended up sleeping on his back with his arms crossed making sure not to touch her. _I might as well be sleeping on the couch. But she'd probably take offense to that somehow. Or maybe she's even taking offense to this? Who knows? I won't risk it.  
_

* * *

The Lukes slowly walked into DDR, hesitant to find the answer to that burning question.

They found Emi dancing on one of the dance pads after some searching.

"L-Luke?!" Emi asked with a nervous smile, "What happened? You got split back up!" A wave of uncertainty hit her upon the realization. _Oh.. That's going to be trouble.._

"Y-yeah.." Luke said, "It's great.." _Oh man._

"But it's a bit.." Luuke said, "Well, you know.." _She knows what the problem with this is already. Do we even need to say it?_

"We don't know what we should do about this," Luke said finally, "Neither one of us wants to give you up.." _I feel terrible dropping this on her._

"I.. I can about imagine," Emi said solemnly, "Are you here to make me choose one of you?"

"W-well.." Luke said nervously. _I still don't want to share. Who would? Even if it is with myself.. What other option is there other than having her choose?_

"We don't know what else to do," Luuke said nervously. _It was so much easier when we were one person. With the exception of me not having any free will._

"I don't want to be forced to choose," Emi said sadly, "I mean.. You're both the one I fell in love with. Even if you'd like to think you're completely different." _Why couldn't they have stayed as they were?_

"What do we do then?" Luuke asked sincerely.

"We're at a loss.." Luke said, "We've spent so much time arguing that we couldn't come up with anything else.."

Emi sighed and cradled the bridge of her nose. _They're going to absolutely hate me for this, but one way or another it will solve the dilemma._ "Can't we just keep it how it always was, but different? Just the three of us?.."

There was a long pause between the three of them as what she asked sunk in.

"Sorry," Emi said, "That's the least unappealing option I could think of.. You probably hate me now." She looked at the floor in embarrassment. _What else could I have said? They're practically identical. It's all or nothing.  
_

"I don't like it.." Luke said. Emi flinched. "I don't like it, but since it's me and myself who you can't choose between, I can live with it." _What alternative do I have? Neither one of me would back down, and I don't know what I would do without her. I'm sure it's the same for him._

"I don't hate you.." Luuke said, "I'm sure he doesn't either. We're idiots, but we know when we've found the best girl in the arcade.." _This is the most I should expect, being the one on the inside until now.. She'd feel more strongly for him if she really had to choose._

"But I'm not going on shared dates with him," Luke said, "I'm tired of being around this guy after all the hell he's put me through."

"I don't want to be around you either, buddy," Luuke said, "I'm afraid if I stuck too close to you we'd merge again." He raised his hands and backed away a step.

"You're finally split up and you're straight back to fighting again?" Emi asked, "You never learn, do you? Maybe I **should** just drop both of you." She teared up. "I-I don't mean that.."

* * *

Vannie was brushing Vanellope's hair after the two had gotten out of the bath and changed into matching teal pajamas, while Ralph paced around the throne room examining the various paintings that were hanging on the 'salmon' colored walls. Mostly to annoy Sour Bill while he waited for his turn to bathe.

"Now don't you feel better?" Vannie asked jokingly. _It'll be kind of fun being a mom, I guess.._

"Yep," Vanellope said, "Ralph needs a bath too though." She laughed. _He must have been in a hurry to go to Dragon's Lair._

"You noticed too, huh?" Vannie said with a smile, "It'll be his turn next."

"Hey Vannie?.." Vanellope asked.

"Yeah?" Vannie asked in return.

"You don't think I'm getting in the way, do you?" Vanellope asked, "I may be a kid, but I'm not stupid. I was merged with you for a while, you know?" _I know you were jealous of me.. __Just not in a mean-spirited way. Sorry about that..  
_

"I wouldn't say you're.. in the way," Vannie said, "But I would appreciate at least **some** time alone with Ralph.."

"Blehhh," Vanellope said, "I thought so.. What should I do?" _I'm willing to make __**some**__ concessions. You're going to be my mom after all.._

"I don't know.." Vannie said with a sigh, "I do enjoy having you with us though. That's the only reason I sleep in the same bed as Ralph right now, because you're with us."

"So you're scared you'll attack him?" Vanellope said teasingly. _That's gross._

"W-where did you learn to talk like that?" Vannie said, "That's not it.." _That's hardly something a child should say._

"I know, I'm just messin' with ya," Vanellope said, "So how about we come up with some kind of code word for when you want me to go play or something?"

"It would have to be subtle," Vannie said, "Ralph would notice.." _I'd rather him not be suspicious of this weird little agreement._

"You do realize we're talking about Ralph, right?" Vanellope said with an eyebrow raised.

"How about this?" Vannie asked as she blew a raspberry. _First thing that comes to mind._

Vanellope laughed, "Well that might be **somewhat** suspicious. How about you wrinkle your nose at me when he's not looking? Like this." She wrinkled her nose. "That way he'll never know."

"Sounds good," Vannie said, "but how long will you be 'going play' for?"

"I'll just let you worry about that," Vanellope said with a laugh, "Depends on how long it takes me to get bored."

"So unforgiving.." Vannie said with a sigh, "We're not going to prank Ralph when he's sleeping anymore, are we?"

"Nah," Vanellope said, "It was fun for a while, but I think it's better to wake him up nicely. I'll let you handle that. I'll get a head start going to the kitchen and talk to Spicy Jill or something."

"You're shrewd," Vannie said, "I think I rubbed off a little too much on you." _She thinks like an adult sometimes.._

"You say that," Vanellope said, "But don't think I didn't notice you keep those memories of Ralph saving me. I was in there too." _I can just tell you didn't mention it to King Candy._

"You caught that, huh?" Vannie said sheepishly, "I know it goes against what we said, but it's so sweet.."

"I'm not complaining.." Vanellope said, "He'd have done the same for you too." _I'd have been tempted to keep that other memory too if it weren't of people dying in front of me.._

"I know," Vannie said with a smile, "I'm glad I met him when I did. It would have been terrible if some other guy came along first."

"Ralph is leagues above the others, isn't he?" Vanellope said with a laugh.

"There's really no one better," Vannie said with a laugh.

They informed Ralph it was his turn and waited in his guest room.

When he could be sure he was clean he moseyed back to his guest room.

"Again?" Ralph asked with a shy smile, "Shouldn't you be worried about what King Candy would think if he saw you sleeping in the same bed as me already?"

"Who cares what he thinks?" Vannie said teasingly, "Besides, this little angel is with us."

"Her? An angel?" Ralph teased, "To that I say 'ha'!"

"You know you prefer it like this, Ralph!" Vanellope said with a smile, "Don't even lie."

"You know it still worries me.." Ralph said, "We can swear up and down all we want that I don't have to worry about hurting you two, but I think it's a different story when I'm not conscious."

"You're like a baby kitten when you don't mean it," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes, "What have you ever wrecked in your sleep? In all the times I snuck into your house when you were sleeping because I had a nightmare, have you ever once hurt me? You need to get over this little phobia of yours.." _Come on, I'm your daughter, aren't I? I hate sleeping alone._

"I think you've said about enough, Vanellope," Vannie said warmly, "And Ralph, come on, look at these eyes." She moved Vanellope's bangs out of her face. "Do you see even the slightest bit of fear in them?"

"Two against one isn't fair, you know?" Ralph said with a sigh, "I just don't want King Candy getting the wrong idea."

"What idea?" Vanellope asked teasingly. _That's gross, Ralph. Like anything would happen with me here._

"..Forget it," Ralph said, "Fine, if that's what you want, lay down." He gestured with his hand towards the bed as he turned off the light. _I can understand Vanellope not wanting to sleep alone after everything that's happened to her.._

Ralph laid down nearly at the edge of the bed and they went to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so that's finally the end of day four. At some point I'll be skipping ahead a few days or weeks, but that's probably not going to be any time soon. I don't really think that the relationships are progressing too fast at this rate anyways, considering that Felix and Calhoun must have gotten married before a full week was even over, given the way Ralph's Bad-Anon speech at the end of the movie was worded like everything just happened within that week.

Let's just chalk it up to the uncertainty of their lives. They could be around for as little as months before their games break down. So thinking about it that way, I think it's perfectly natural to speed things along somewhat. Just not to the extent of what Felix and Calhoun did according to my interpretation of it. They're still going to wait months to get married.


	53. Chapter 53

Vanellope woke up before both Ralph and Vannie and decided to wait in the kitchen talking with Spicy Jill, the resident chef of the castle. She somewhat resembled Sour Bill, although she was red and slightly less perfectly round.

"Why good morning, deary," Spicy Jill said as Vanellope walked into the room, "Did you have a nice rest?"

"Yep," Vanellope said with a smile, "I slept like a log." She laughed. _I don't know why Ralph gets so paranoid lately._

"Well I am glad to hear that," Spicy Jill said with a modest laugh, "So what would you like for breakfast?"

"Hmm.." Vanellope said in thought, "I'm not sure, to be honest. I was just bored waiting for Ralph and Vannie to wake up, that's all."

"I'm glad that you three get along so well," Spicy Jill beamed, "That Ralph fellow is such a sweetheart, isn't he?" She laughed modestly again. _That boy certainly loves my cooking._ "I don't know what Salty Phil has against him."

"Ralph can be quite clumsy and thoughtless at times," Vanellope said with a laugh, "Salty Phil's just mad that he has to clean up the mess Ralph leaves in his wake on occasion."

"Good morning, Vanellope," King Candy said with a laugh, "Did you have a nice rest?"

"Y-yeah," Vanellope said with a laugh. _He snuck up on me._ "Thanks for what you did before.."

"Oh you mean the.." King Candy said, "Yes.. Was that satisfactory?" _She at least shouldn't remember the scene itself._

"Yeah it's good," Vanellope said, "I still would have rathered not see it at all. You should fix that picture. I can understand the reason it's there, but to see that scene every time you pick up the picture is a bit much. I know it's the only way Vannie can see her birth parents, but don't you think that's a bit sad to force her through that every time? What if she just wants to look at the picture without seeing her parents die in front of her?" _What if someone else picks it up?_

"I'll get around to it," King Candy said with a sigh, "It's cruel, but I don't know how else to allow her to see it if she **does** want to see it.."

"Just make it so that she has to hold it tightly with both hands or something, I don't know," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes, "I don't know why she would want to put herself through that torture on purpose, but you can do at least that, right?" _Who would want to see their parents cruelly killed in a crash on a near-daily basis?_

"Fair enough.." King Candy said as he waved, heading into the dining room. _I suppose that makes enough sense. She's still bit__ter about it, I see.._

* * *

Vannie woke up feeling refreshed as usual, and noticed Vanellope had already gone. _That sneaky little imp._ She looked over to Ralph and noticed he was still sleeping. His nose whistled slightly as he slept. _He looks so peaceful. _She smiled. _It's such a big difference from when he's awake. __Vanellope said I should wake him up nicely._ She smiled wider and kissed him softly.

Ralph didn't wake up. _Well this isn't a fairy tale.. _She rolled her eyes. _Maybe if I stroke his hair? _She stroked his hair softly and ran her fingers down his jaw and kissed him again.

Ralph opened his eyes tiredly, his vision slowly coming into focus. Without thinking he draped a large hand around her back. "Is that any way for a princess to behave?" he asked tiredly with a smile. _Where's your partner in crime?_

"It is when said princess happens to be your girlfriend," Vannie said mischievously as she kissed him again.

With his other hand, Ralph wiped his eyes in an attempt to further wake himself up. "So what shall we do today once the arcade closes?"

"Good question," Vannie said, resting her forehead to his, "What do you suggest?"

"We could show Ash around a bit," Ralph said, "The poor guy is practically a fish out of water outside his own game. Plus he's only been out of his game once so far. It'd probably be a bit unfair to leave him to fend for himself."

"I think I broke his heart earlier," Vannie said with a laugh, "It seems you really hit the jackpot." _So did I.._

"I knew that from the beginning," Ralph said with a smile, "But I've got a lot going for me too, don't I?" _If these girls like me, how bad can I be?_

"So you admit it," Vannie said lovingly as she ruffled his hair and laid on her back next to him. _No more of that 'someone like me' junk. I'm glad that didn't last long._

"Do you think we should try setting up Ash with one of your other friends?" Ralph asked, "There'll be trouble coming his way if he starts staring again." _Well it wasn't staring exactly, but it was heading that way._

"I think that's more Taffyta's job," Vannie said with a laugh, "They're not all single, you know? Well, a few probably are.. Finding them is the trick. And who knows where they all disappear to?" _Calling some of them friends is a bit of a stretch too. They're not mean to me or anything, but it's not like we talk all the time. I suppose me being royalty has them nervous. Would they think I'm trying to order them to date him? 'Date by royal decree'?.._ She smiled.

"I love you.." Ralph said with a smile. _That smile really does me in.. Come to think of it, have I ever actually said it before? I know I said I 'like' her, but that doesn't really count._

"Aww, I love you too," Vannie said with a laugh as she rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm glad we finally have some time to sit and talk with just the two of us." _Thanks, Vanellope. You're a good kid._

"True," Ralph said, "I don't mean to say that Vanellope is in the way, she's not. But it's nice to have time alone on occasion." _In fact it's odd that she's gone this long before coming get us.._ "Where'd she go anyways?"

"Oh I'm sure she's probably waiting patiently in the kitchen about now," Vannie said. _So he's noticed._

"Patiently?" Ralph said dismissively, "I think I know her a bit better than that." He smiled. "Regardless, I'm glad we have this moment to ourselves." _Just being lazy like this works __for me__._

"And what do you think we should do with this rare moment alone?" Vannie asked teasingly. _Don't think too hard about that one, Ralph._

"Well, I don't know," Ralph said, "They're so rare that it never crossed my mind what to do with one." He chuckled. _Your guess is as good as mine, if not better._ "Vanellope will probably come get us any moment now anyways." _On that note, as much as I hate to do this.._ "Come on, we shouldn't keep her waiting.."

"Aww," Vannie said disappointedly as they got up, "One more, one more." She smiled as she held her hands up. _Kisu._

Ralph sighed happily and bent down to kiss her. _If that's what the princess wants._

Vannie wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss. _Let's make it count, okay? It'll probably be the last one all day if we're not lucky._ Ralph wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, his large hands unable to do anything more refined, much to his dismay.

Vannie sighed and smiled deeply then said, "That's better. Now let's go see what she's up to." _I wonder how soon until the arcade opens.._

They walked into the dining room where King Candy was eating.

"Ah, good morning," King Candy said with a laugh, "Vanellope is in the kitchen."

"Thanks," Ralph said, "So how did it go in Undead Apocalypse 3?"

"Well, he had to send some of his deadite friends to guide me to the cabin," King Candy said with a laugh, "As soon as his feet hit the ground he was dragged back at a remarkable speed. Such a shame, really."

"Deadite?" Ralph asked, a bemused expression on his face.

"Their word for zombie," King Candy said, "They still refer to themselves as zombies though, so I don't see the point in them being called that." _Or maybe it's just because zombie requires no further explanation. _"Anyways.. Ash doesn't have to worry about being able to leave his game anymore. I set the roots to disable if there hasn't been a quarter alert in 15 minutes. It seemed appropriate enough." _He __was interested in learning to mess with his game too, but luckily he agreed that would be a bad idea when I explained how risky that is. It's a lot of responsibility._

"Ralph!" Vanellope said excitedly as she ran into the room followed by Spicy Jill, "I was wondering where you two were."

"Good morning, Ralph," Spicy Jill said with a smile, "I hope you're hungry."

"For your cooking?" Ralph asked with a smile, "You bet." _The one servant that doesn't cop an attitude._

They leisurely took their time eating and went on their way to their games, waiting for the arcade to open.

* * *

"Have you seen my hat?" Felix asked nervously, "It's not on my head this time, I checked." _Jiminy jaminy, I need that hat!_

"Haven't seen it anywhere," Calhoun said with a smile as she put it on her head while his back was turned. She was in bed watching leisurely as he searched for his precious hat. "Have you checked under the bed?" _I wonder how long it'll take him to notice._

"Good idea!" Felix said as he glanced at her before looking under the bed, "No.. it's not under here. He scratched his head. _Now where is it? Now If I just trace back to when I took it off last.. _A big grin crept onto his face. _Okay so where did I put it? The hat.._ "Oh! That's sneaky!" He laughed as he noticed her wearing it.

"You gotta work on your spot check," Calhoun said lovingly as she got out of bed and crouched down to his level, putting his hat on for him, "Think of this as training, soldier."

"Yes ma'am!" Felix said warmly with a salute. _I love it when we talk duty._

"At ease," Calhoun said sweetly as she kissed him tenderly on the lips, cartoon hearts popping up, dancing happily. _It's those hearts again.._

A moment after their lips parted Felix asked, "So what's on today's agenda?"

"The boys have been begging me to make their new outfits part of their character profiles," Calhoun said, "So I suppose I'll waste a few minutes doing that. Afterwards, I'm all yours." _In whatever way._

"J-jaminy.." Felix said with a far-off look in his eyes before giggling, "Well I think it's safe to say that we'll have plenty of time today. I wonder what Ralph has planned though, we haven't talked as much as usual as of late." _So many things happening all at once lately. I suppose that's partially due to him having a girlfriend. And of course Jet's shenanigans coming back to bite him._

"You mean aside from business talk," Calhoun said, "Yeah, he's been busy alright."

Felix laughed and said, "If only!.. He's certainly found the perfect person for him, though." _I couldn't be much happier for him._

"Indeed," Calhoun said with a smile, "I guess you could say she gives him the honeyglow something awful." She tried her best to imitate his accent.

"You're almost there," Felix said with a laugh. _You've been practicing.._

"# !?; (I can hear you!)"

"; ?$! (Sorry Q*bert)," Felix said, raising his voice somewhat, "Um.. * %?;!: (We'll keep it down)." _I think we ought to sound proof this room.._

"^;!?# (Thanks, Felix)," Q*bert said.

"Poor Q*bert," Calhoun laughed quietly, "We've probably been keeping him up.." She kissed Felix deeply. "Well, I'd better head out. See you when the arcade closes." She stood up and walked out the door happily.

"Jeepers.." Felix muttered to himself happily. _I guess I'd better head outside and wait for Ralph._ He scurried off out the apartment.

* * *

Crumbelina woke up red-faced, remembering what she and Jet did. _We didn't even bother getting dressed.._ She smiled as she played with his hair. _Although.._ Her heart fluttered. _I suppose it wasn't the best idea to do that with Charley __right__ in the next room. I hope he didn't hear anything. We were quiet__-ish.. I__t shouldn't have traveled through the wall.. Oh dear.._She carefully got out of bed and got dressed as quickly as she could and woke Jet up.

"You'd better get dressed," Crumbelina whispered, "I'll wait outside." She kissed him on the cheek. _Well I'll never forget that._

"G-good morning, Charley," Crumbelina said with a nervous smile as she walked into the kitchen, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, pretty well," Charley said, "So what should I do while you're all doing your jobs?" _I've got nothing to do.. _He took a bite of cereal.

"Well, Jet and I will only be in the stands watching the races today," Crumbelina said, "I didn't make it on the roster today, and Jet didn't participate in the Random Roster Race. You can sit with us if you want." _I guess he didn't hear us, thank goodness._

"Hey Charley," Jet said with a smile, "Looks like you slept well." _Just don't think about it._

"So I made you miss out on a race, huh.." Charley said, "Sorry about that, I guess." _Am I making them nervous or something? Well I guess that's not __so __unusual._

"Don't worry about it," Jet said, "I may as well give the other racers a shot every now and then, right?"

"So you're that good?" Charley asked with a faint smile.

"W-well, I'm certainly not the greatest racer ever," Jet said with a laugh. _Why'd I have to think about him all of a sudden?.. _"Vannie gets that honor.. But when I'm on my game I usually make it on the roster." _My best performance here was my first, haha. Third place.. I hope I can put on a good show for him when the arcade closes._

"I see," Charley said, "Sounds pretty competitive." _I suppose I could watch some races with them._

"So have you thought about what you'll do today?" Jet asked, "You can come to the beach with us, you know." _He's old enough to wander the arcade on his own. He may be a child, but he's practically the same age as me as far as life experience goes._

"Maybe some other time," Charley said, "I rather see what the other Sugar Rush is like, since there's kids my age there." _I'd rather not get in their way too much. They might get tired of me._

Jet and Crumbelina ate while talking to Charley about nothing in particular then went sit in the stands.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So there's a few pairings missing here, obviously. I couldn't help it, haha. It takes a few hours for me to write this much so I had to split the 'pre-arcade opening' bit into two parts.

In case you thought I meant to type "her" when Jet talks about the greatest racer ever, he was thinking about Turbo, the other self-proclaimed greatest racer ever.


	54. Chapter 54

"Now who's the one that's uncomfortable?" Jubileena asked herself aloud with a laugh. Garret was still sleeping with his arms crossed near the edge of the bed. _Garret you're a gentleman, aren't you?_ She giggled. _I guess I can make him something to eat since I'm awake and he stayed over. Does he even know how to cook, I wonder?_

She went into the kitchen and made fried eggs and bacon. _Who can argue with that?_

The smell wafted into the bedroom, waking Garret up. He wandered into the kitchen almost nervously.

"Morning," Jubileena said with a smile. _Today I'll be nice for sure. Stay focused Jubileena. Absolutely no rudeness._

"Morning," Garret said with a smile as he gently leaned up against the wall. _You're going to make me never want to leave. Even more than I already do._

"It's not much," Jubileena said as she placed the frying pan into the dishwasher, "but it should be good enough, right?" _You'd better agree. Well that would have not been nice to say.._

"You kidding?" Garret asked happily, "How could I complain about this?"

"I'm glad to hear it," Jubileena said wryly, "I'm going shower, so you go ahead and eat." _If only you knew what you do to me._

"A-alright.." Garret said as he sat down to eat. _She's so intense, haha.. I can't believe I let myself stay over. I even told myself I wouldn't if she offered._

"How is it?" Jubileena asked while standing in front of the bathroom.

"It's good," Garret said, "You're not worried, are you?"

"Of course not," Jubileena said, "Just asking so it doesn't get quiet."

"I get ya," Garret said, "You're in a good mood today. I'm glad." He walked over to the bathroom with his place and sat down on the floor next to the door when he heard it close.

"Yeah," Jubileena said, her voice faintly drowned out by the running water, "Well that's because it's just us right now. I rather it just be us, Minty and Leon going to the beach later, but I guess I can't avoid people forever, can I?" She slapped her knuckle against her forehead lightly. _Just get over it._

"I still don't fully understand why you don't like being around other people so much," Garret said, "I mean, I do get that you don't want your opinion to be the unpopular one, but when it's something you wanted to do anyways.."

Jubileena sighed and said, "I don't know.. I just really don't like being around a lot of people, there isn't really much more to it than that. I can put up with it, but it's pretty obvious when I'm uncomfortable since my tone sours and I tend to say things that aren't exactly nice.." _Like when Leon accepted Tamora's bowling challenge._

"You mean like right now.." Garret said. _Sorry.._

"It's okay.." Jubileena said with a sigh, "I know you're just trying to help me make sense of it, but I've thought about it a lot and there's just not much I can do about it other than trying to be nice." _I can at least handle 5 or 6 people maybe, if no one annoys me. Four counting the two of us, Minty and Leon. Taffyta and Rancis makes 6.. Great so there's going to be at least 8 with Jet and Crumbelina, and then Charley will likely come as well. 9 people.. I should probably keep my mouth shut the whole time. Otherwise just choose my words very carefully.. The worst part is not making other people mad at me for how I talk to them._

"I don't think you have to worry too much about sounding nice," Garret said, "You seemed alright when talking to Ralph until he didn't know what you meant, and there were quite a few people.."

"Yeah, but little me and Minty are kind of like just me and Minty," Jubileena said, "I don't have to worry about them. Vannie can be a little on the rude side herself, so can Vanellope. I don't know what to think about that Ash guy so far though, he seemed okay. And Ralph wasn't perfect either.."

"Well nobody's perfect," Garret said, "If you try to be perfect all you're going to do is stress yourself out." _How else can I put it?_

"I suppose that's true," Jubileena said, "It's not like I'm trying to be perfect anyways, I'm just trying to be nice. There's nothing wrong with being nice, is there?" _That'd be just fantastic._

"Well there's nothing wrong with being nice," Garret said, "I'm just saying that you shouldn't force yourself to be too nice.. Are you sure that it's not just the stress from worrying about it that makes you.. well I wouldn't say lash out, because it's not anything like that, really. But I mean, you know.."

"I don't know.." Jubileena said, "I can't just not worry about it at the drop of a hat though. I've been worrying about it ever since I was a kid." She turned the water off. _Maybe not quite as young as little me though._

"Fair enough," Garret said, "In any case I'll be there to help in any way I can.."

Jubileena got out of the bathroom wearing a white towel and looked down at him. "Thanks.. I'll be right back." she said as she went back to her room. _Forgot a clean set of clothes.._

"A-alright," Garret said with a nervous laugh. _Well I guess I should have expected that._ He got up and put his dishes into the dishwasher.

Jubileena got changed into her racing clothes and came back out. They talked for a while about the beach as she ate and then headed to the track.

Garret stayed to talk with Leon who was at the track talking with Minty, Taffyta, and Rancis.

* * *

"Wakey wakey~," Minty said playfully as she pinched Leon's nose shut. _You should get up so we have time before the arcade opens._

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm up," Leon said stuffily as he woke up. He gently removed her hand from his nose and smiled at her. "How long until the arcade opens?"

"About an hour and a half or so," Minty said with a smile, snuggling up to him. _I'm glad he stayed over again. Hugging pillows and teddy bears __would__n't even compare._

"How long have you been up?" Leon asked as he held her hand, stroking it lovingly with his thumb. _I hope she didn't wait too long before waking me up._

"Just a few minutes," Minty said and snickered. _I have no reason to wait to wake you up._

"So do we have anything to eat?" Leon asked, "I'm a bit peckish."

"Oh, right," Minty said with a sheepish laugh, "I forgot about that. What would you like?"

"What are my options?" Leon asked with a smile.

"Hmm.." Minty said in thought, she listed on her fingers, "Well, we've got cereal, eggs, bacon, bread if you want sandwiches or toast.." _I don't even bother with stuff for dinner since I always end up eating at the cafe when the arcade closes.._

"Do you have peanut butter and jelly?" Leon asked almost excitedly. _I haven't had that in ages._

"Of course," Minty said with a giggle, "But I've only got grape jelly, I hope you don't mind."

"That's perfectly fine," Leon said happily as he started to get up. _As much as I love being lazy in bed.._

Minty grabbed Leon's arm lightly while smiling at him, and slowly let it slide free before getting up herself. _I guess we'll have time later.._

"It's been ages since I've had one of these," Leon said as he took the first bite of his newly made sandwiches. _Even better than I remember. Probably because of where we are._

"Well, we **are** in Sugar Rush," Minty said with a smile as she ate. _He must really like peanut butter and jelly. I can't blame him a bit._

"True," Leon said with a laugh, "This place is great. I just wish my game had as much to offer."

"But it's got a beach!" Minty said teasingly, "Without sugar in it! That in itself is amazing to me since the one we've got is all sticky and in general you don't want to go in there."

"It's going to be fun," Leon said, grinning like an idiot, "I just hope that nothing happens this time to make us leave, or the mood otherwise gets ruined."

"Well, don't jinx it," Minty said as he patted him on the head, "I'm sure it will be fine today. Jet's coming with us this time, so Crumbelina won't get worried and leave. Taffyta and Rancis won't leave either because of that." _Oh, and Charley too._

"My bad," Leon said, "That's just a bad habit of mine." _I've had it rough until recently._

"Don't worry," Minty said with a smile, "I'll help you break that habit in no time."

Leon laughed and said, "I'm sure you will. I haven't had a bad day since I've met you."

"Likewise," Minty said happily, "I just hope that the two of us and Garret can break Jubileena out of the rut she's in."

"Well, don't jinx it," Leon said teasingly, "I'm sure that with the four of us working on it, she'll get over it soon."

"Ah! You turned that back on me," Minty said, "But that's true.. I just want her to be happy. It's been bothering her for years." _I was kind of shocked she was so willing to date someone in the first place._ _We're lucky things happened the way they did. Otherwise.._ "So do you like how my swimsuit looks? You know, since you've seen it on me by now.." _Dwelling on that subject won't do us any good._

"Naturally," Leon said with a smile, "Of course.. N-nevermind." _Well now I'm going to have to say it I guess. She's got my mind going every which way._

"You'd better say whatever it was you were about to say," Minty said with a curious smile as she rested her chin on her arm, "Or is it something bad?" _I think I have an idea of what it may be.._

"Oh, I'm just being a perverted dog, is all.." Leon said with a laugh. _Would you have me elaborate?_

"Oh, I see," Minty said with a laugh, "Well that in itself isn't a bad thing, now is it?" _I may be a bit like that as well.. A bit.._

"I suppose not," Leon said, "But I should keep that kind of thing to myself more often.." _I really have no excuse for bringing it up like that in the first place._

"I guess that's true," Minty said with a sheepish smile, "Well I should probably head over to the racetrack.. You can come along too if you don't feel like going to your game yet."

They went to the track and talked with Taffyta and Rancis for a while about nothing in particular, eventually joined by Garret and Jubileena.

* * *

**Author's Note:** In an attempt to lengthen each scene, I've gotten to the point where I have to limit how often I switch between them since I can't keep up, haha. Thus that's more chapters without some characters. I think it works out fine this way too though.


	55. Chapter 55

"Alright, Rancis," Taffyta said, "It's time to wake up." She shook him awake. _I did say early to bed __**early**__ to rise, you know._

"Urgh," Rancis groaned groggily, "What happened to the sweet Taffyta?" _You've been so good the past few days.._

"She's taking a break," Taffyta said jokingly, "I don't need you going into shock from sap overdose." _Teasing is in my code, what do you expect?_

"I wouldn't complain.." Rancis said as he wiped the sleep from his eyes and blinked a few times, still laying in bed lazily.

"Well, you can still forget about it for now," Taffyta said with a smile, "We need to get ready for work." _Heh.. Work._

"Work," Rancis said with a tired laugh, "Best job in the world."

"Up, I say. Up!" Taffyta said insistently, still smiling. _He __**should**__ be well rested.._

"Pull me up?" Rancis asked as he raised up his hands. _I've shown you my hand, show me yours._

"Careful what you wish for," Taffyta said as she yanked him off the bed and onto the floor. _That'll do the trick._

_Denied.._ He pushed himself to his feet with a sigh and said, "Alright, I'm up.." _I just wanted a kiss. That so much to ask for without saying it?_

"Well it's about time," Taffyta said with a smile, "Now here's your reward." She pecked him on the cheek. _Gotta leave him wanting more._

"Have you eaten?" Rancis asked. _A better kiss than that, please?_

"Nope," Taffyta said as she put her hat on and winked at herself in the mirror next to the dresser. _Looking good as always._

"Would you like some eggs?" Rancis asked.

"Rather specific question," Taffyta said, "But sure, go ahead and cook something for me." _I wonder how Jet and Crumbelina are doing right now._

After they ate, they headed for the track and talked with Leon and Minty for a while until Garret and Jubileena also showed up.

"Hey guys," Garret said with a smile. _I did nothing, don't give me any suspicious looks. _"Looking forward to later?"

"Yep!" Minty said excitedly and laughed. _I guess Garret stayed over a Jujube's house. I wonder if anything went on, though I don't think I should pry.. Good on you, Jujube._

"Where's Jet and Crumbelina?" Garret asked. _I don't see them in this crowd._

"They're in the stands over there," Rancis said as he smiled and waved to them, "Charley is with them too. I guess he's here to watch as well."

"Oh, okay," Garret said. _I forgot they didn't get on the roster today._

"So did you guys sleep well?" Taffyta asked. _Or did you maybe not get any sleep at all?_

Jubileena wracked her brain for a split-second. _Calm down. You know she's just teasing. How should I respond?_ _This is exactly the reason I worry.._ "Yep," she said with a smile. _One word response, great._

"Of course," Leon said with a smile. _I wonder if Minty would have me over every night. It's worlds above sleeping in the barracks with a bunch of sweaty guys. Takes too long to go back 'home', and that spider is probably still there somewhere._

"I could have used 5 more minutes," Rancis said half-jokingly. _Taffyta is back to her teasing self again. I wonder how long it will last this time._

"You should have gone to bed 5 minutes earlier then," Taffyta said teasingly. _If you wouldn't spend so long looking at yourself in the mirror this wouldn't have been a problem._

"We'd better go," Garret said, "Sarge will kill us if we take too long getting back." _I didn't think about that. She's going to give us the third degree._

"Oh, didn't think about that," Leon said, "We'll see you guys when the arcade closes."

"Don't forget to bring your suits!" Minty said happily as Leon and Garret walked past Minty Zaki, and left for Hero's Duty. _Today is going to be fun. Just the.. 9 of us at the beach!_ After a moment she waved at Jet, Crumbelina and Charley, who waved back.

Minty Zaki rolled her eyes.

* * *

"There you are, Ralph," Felix said with a grin, "You look happy." _How did it go? You can tell me._

"There something wrong with being happy?" Ralph asked as he crossed his arms. _You enjoy doing this, don't you?_

"Oh, you know what I mean, brother," Felix said with a chuckle, "I'm just saying your cheeks are really bringing out the honeyglow."

"Oh, can it," Ralph said while rolling his eyes, "You of all people know what it's like to be in love.." _Mr. I-got-married-within-a-week._

"So have you thought about tying her down yet?" Felix asked. His cheeks turned a shade of red. _Forgive the euphemism._

"Felix!" Ralph said in pure disbelief. _I don't know if I should be mad or laugh.._

"Relax Ralph," Felix said while slapping his knee in jest, "I'm just saying, you know.. Getting married. How did you think I meant, hmm?" _Well I did mean it either way._

"Oh I think we both **know** how you meant it," Ralph said while furrowing his brow. He sighed as his face softened into a small smile. "I think it would be great, though.. Getting married to her. She really is the only one for me in the entire arcade.. But we can't all get married within a week of meeting each other." _I'd like to not rush things along. I'm still trying to get over my fear of hurting her, as irrational as it might seem now._

"Says who?" Felix asked before shaking his head softly, "..I do understand that, Ralph. But you know how arcade life can be. We've seen more games come and go than we care to admit.. Tammy and I may be a bit of an exception, but it's still something you ought to keep in mind." _The last thing I want to see is anything happening to either of you before you can say 'I do'. The past few days have been stressful to say the least._

"Yeah.." Ralph said with a sigh, "But I'm not about to risk ruining a good thing by trying to move things along too quickly. Besides, it's not like it's the end of the world even if we never get married. We'll still be with each other." _At least give me a few months.._

"That's.." Felix said, "That's quite mature of you, Ralph.." _You're far more patient than I give you credit for._

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ralph asked with a laugh.

"All I'm saying is that I'm proud of you for having that mindset," Felix said, "I'm disappointed I'll have to wait longer to be **your** best man, but that makes it all the more worth it in the end." _He's really put thought into it, hasn't he?!_

"Who says **you'll** be best man?" Ralph asked teasingly, "I kid.. But really, Felix.. Ask me again in a few months and I might have a better answer for you, okay?" _I have little doubt in my mind she would say yes.. What with those eyes she gives me. But all the same, it's too soon.._

"Oh, alright," Felix said with a sigh, "So what do you two have planned today?"

"Three.." Ralph said, "Vanellope is going to be with us too." _Of course she will. _"Anyways. We met this guy from Undead Apocalypse 3. He's only been out of his game once so far. And that was thanks to Vanellope. So we figured we would show him around a bit."

"Oh, now that sounds fun," Felix said with a smile, "I've never been to that one.. Would you mind if Tammy and I come along?" _I know this will probably have the opposite effect of what I'd like for the two of them, but if I can see the two interact in person that would be fun too. And it's been a while since we did anything together that didn't involve the stability of the arcade._

"I don't see why not," Ralph said, "Just keep in mind that this will be his second time ever leaving his game."

"Jeepers.." Felix said, "But why hasn't he left his game before now?" _Was he a glitch until now?_

"His game wouldn't let him," Ralph said, "He wasn't a glitch. It's just that there were these roots that would pull him back to the center of the game whenever he tried to leave. It's complicated." _It would be easier to show, but now I guess it can't be shown since King Candy fixed it. Still feels a little strange trusting the guy, but that's Turbo's fault._

The arcade opened.

* * *

"Morning kids," Litwak beamed, "Come on in." _The best part of the day. _"Good to see you, good to see you. You too little fella." A few kids and a middle-aged man walked inside.

"Good morning Mr. Litwak," Lindsey said enthusiastically as she walked inside. She had shoulder length blonde hair and pink framed glasses. She wore a pink shirt with a flowery skirt and solid teal leggings. _You're gonna get it this time, Ralph._ She headed straight for the cabinet for Fix-It Felix Jr. It had quickly become her favorite game in the arcade, despite Sugar Rush, Sugar Rush 2, and Hero's Duty beating it in popularity ever so slightly. "Oh.. Hey Mr. Litwak." _I almost forgot._

"What's the trouble, Lindsey?" Litwak asked as he walked over to her. _Ralph missing again?_

"No trouble," Lindsey said with a smile, "I was just wondering if you read that new article about Adrenaline Rush."

"Oh, yeah," Litwak said with a smile, "It's getting released in a couple weeks."

"So then you **are** getting it?" Lindsey asked with a smile. _I want to be the first one to play it._

"You betcha," Litwak said with a chuckle, "I'm still thinking of where I'll put it though."

"Why not put it next to Sugar Rush?" Lindsey asked. _They're related after all.._

"Well normally I would," Litwak said, "but I think it'd probably be best to keep them somewhat separated. Give them a little breathing room." _I might move Burger Time over a bit and put it there.._

"You saw the leaked video, right?" Lindsey said with a smile, "I always wanted to know more about them.."

"Hmm. No I don't believe I have," Litwak said, "Don't spoil it for me now.." He laughed. "Here's a game on me." He pressed a quarter gently into her hand as he patted her on the shoulder and walked off to inspect the rest of the arcade.

"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!" Ralph yelled as if to catch her attention. _Adrenaline Rush?_

Lindsey chuckled and said, "Don't go easy on me, Ralph." She slid the quarter into the coin slot. _Because_ _**I** can fix it!_

* * *

**Author's Note:** I figured I might as well add a real-world arcade scene. And some mild foreshadowing for events to come.


	56. Chapter 56

After a long day of gaming, the arcade finally closed. Litwak looked back into his arcade happily as he turned out the lights and locked the doors, leaving for home. _I'll have to force myself to not look up that video._

"So what do you think, Felix?" Ralph asked, "You know, about Adrenaline Rush.."

"I don't know, Ralph," Felix said, "Hopefully not too many games get moved around this time." _Well it's fine as long as none get unplugged while he does it._

"No, I mean in relation to Sugar Rush," Ralph said, "They're related somehow." _I've heard the name Adrenaline Rush somewhere before.._

"Well, according to King Candy, that's the land they get their food imported from," Felix said, "So I suppose it's a game based there." _I wonder what it's like.. King Candy's description was.. odd to say the least._

"I wonder what kind of game though," Ralph said with a sigh, "Also, apparently there's more to learn about Sugar Rush there.. That's the most interesting thing, I think." _What else could we possibly learn?_

"Well I don't think it'd be another racing game," Felix said, "Litwak may collect them, but it's still a bit soon. The two games would be in direct competition."

"I hope it's not," Ralph said, "I'd hate to see anything steal popularity from Vanellope or Vannie's games."

"I don't think we'd have to worry about that," Felix said with a laugh, "Those boys keep the girls busy."

"Do you have to say it like that?" Ralph asked in an annoyed tone.

"Relax, Ralph," Felix said, "The worst they can do is stare."

"Even that would nearly get my blood boiling," Ralph said as he clenched his fists a few times, "I guess you're right though. The kids will always come back to the Sugar Rush games." _I wonder how I'll break the news to the girls. I'm sure it's good news for them. _"Oh, and I'd better get to Sugar Rush 2, now that I think about it."

"Ralph!" Felix yelled as he ran towards the minecart exit, "Where should we meet up?"

"The gateway to Undead Apocalypse 3!" Ralph yelled back as he got inside the minecart and left for Sugar Rush 2.

* * *

"So what did you think?" Jet asked Charley as he stood up and stretched. _It could get boring sitting here for so long, but at least I have Crumbelina and Charley with me._

"Well it certainly seems fun," Charley said, "But just sitting around is a bit much for me." _At least I had some ice cream to keep me busy. Jet and Crumbelina too.._

"You going to stay to watch if we make it on the roster?" Jet asked with a smile.

"I guess," Charley said as he popped another ice cream into existence, "You'd better get on it." He smiled, looking at both of them. _Don't disappoint me._

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Crumbelina said with a smile as she ruffled his hair softly. _I can focus today, knowing that Jet's not at risk._ _And Charley seems to be happy, so that's good._

They went to the track and lined up their karts.

"So what do you guys think of that game coming in a couple of weeks?" Minty asked happily.

"Not sure," Jet said with a smile, "But if it'll expand on Sugar Rush lore, then it has to be a good thing, right?"

"Agreed," Jubileena said, "But I wonder how it will expand on our lore.." _So many racers here.. At least they keep to their own groups until it's time to race._

"I wonder who runs the place," Taffyta said, "You think they have an equivalent of King Candy?"

"Now** there's** a good question," Rancis said with a smile, "I could imagine them being exact opposites." _A gruff, womanizing, no-nonsense loose cannon that doesn't help anyone._

"I wonder how they would get along," Minty said with a laugh, "But you never know, the leader might be a queen this time." _Oh, now wouldn't that just be fantastic?_

"You think they'd date?" Taffyta asked jokingly. _Never gets old._

Rancis smirked._ I'd like to see you ask him that personally.._

"I'd rather not think about that," Crumbelina said with a laugh. _But good for him if that would be the case._

"Talking about my dad behind his back, hmm?" Vannia said teasingly as she walked over, "Maybe I should tell him about that?" _This will be fun._

"You wouldn't," Taffyta said with a mischievous smirk and crossed her arms.

"Hey Dad!" Vannia called out to him with a smile and waved, "Taffyta has something she wants to ask you." She looked back to Taffyta who was staring at her, jaw wide open. _Think fast, Taffyta._

"What is it, Taffyta?" King Candy asked with a laugh. _I should get along better with my subjects. It's been so nice to having visitors lately._

_Okay Taffyta, think!_ "We were just wondering if you heard about Adrenaline Rush getting plugged in in a couple of weeks."

"Oh, yes!" King Candy said with a laugh, "I look forward to that!"

"D-do you have any idea what the people will be like?" Rancis asked. _Helping with the damage control._

"I would imagine they would be just like us," King Candy said, "Vanellope's mother was from there, you know?.. Oh, perhaps I shouldn't have brought that up.." _I fear I've committed a grievous faux pas._

"It's okay," Vannie said with a sigh, "So where was my biological dad from?" _I'd love to know more about them.._

"Well as his name suggests, he was born in Schweetz," King Candy said with a raised eyebrow, "I thought you knew.." _Don't tell me.._

"Where is Schweetz, anyways?" Taffyta asked. _Is it here somewhere?_

"You live there and you don't even know?" King Candy said with a laugh, "That's the town's name, you know?" _Was it not added to their memory where they live or something?_

"Well it's not like the name is on display anywhere.." Jubileena said as playfully as she could. _How else would we find out? Of course we probably **should** have all known that since we live there.. But we always just call it 'town' since it's the only one._

"Oh.. Well I guess I'll have to fix that.." King Candy said while stroking his chin, "I've been doing a lot of fixing lately." _Like that Felix fellow. A simple sign saying 'Welcome to Schweetz' would be good enough I suppose._

"Who rules Adrenaline Rush?" Jet asked. _We were wondering that a moment ago. I might as well be the one to ask._

"Right now?" King Candy asked before looking down in thought, "Well I don't know about now, but about 20 years ago it was ruled by Penelope's mother, Queen Lemma de Bramble. Of course I don't know if she would still be in power by now.." _They don't really even exist in our game, after all.. Wait, isn't that where Taffyta's parents are right now? I wonder where they're located in the game.._

* * *

"I wonder what's the hold up.." Ralph said as he sat in the stands watching them talk. _Normally the race would be over by now.. I still have another race to attend._

"Ralph.." Gene said distantly as he hopped by and took a seat. _I suppose it can't hurt to see __**one**__ race. You'd better be satisfied with this, Mary.. And take a bath, Ralph.._

"Woah, Gene," Ralph said with a surprised laugh, "Didn't expect to see you here.." _Didn't even notice him._

"We brought him along," Mary said with a laugh as she, Lucy, Nel, and Don hopped up.

"We thought for sure we'd be late," Don said with a smile, "Lucy tells me it's quite exciting."

"We couldn't get Deanna to join us, unfortunately," Nel said as they sat down. _Roy either.._

"Well the race should be on any minute now," Ralph said with a smile, "And I'd bet you just about anything Vannie will win."

Gene sighed. He tried to hide it but his face donned a soft smirk and said, "It's a surprise to see you so confident about anything."

"You'll see why soon," Ralph beamed.

* * *

"Excuse me.." Minty Zaki said as she walked up to King Candy, "We were wondering when the race would start." She laughed nervously and looked around the group. _We all have stuff to do.._ She again looked over to Crumbelina and then Taffyta then back to King Candy.

"Ah!" King Candy said with a laugh, "My apologies, Minty Zaki." He looked over the group. "Sorry, we'll have to continue this another time." _Completely forgot.._

Minty Zaki walked back to her kart and adjusted her hair while saying something to Snowanna.

"I don't think she likes us.." Taffyta said while narrowing her eyes slightly. _Someone needs an attitude adjustment._

Crumbelina sighed nervously and said, "You think?" _You're only just now figuring this out?_

"Doesn't matter what they think about us, right?" Jet said with a smile as he patted them each on the shoulder simultaneously. _I haven't forgotten what you told me, Crumbelina.._

Rancis raised an eyebrow. _Does he know something?_

"Y-yeah.." Taffyta said, "I guess that's one way to put it." _You surprised me.._

"Sorry for the delay, everyone," King Candy said over the speaker with a laugh, "Everyone take your places."

The race took place. Vannie won as usual, followed by King Candy, Minty, Taffyta, Jubileena, Crumbelina, Rancis, Minty Zaki, and Adorabeezle.

Minty Zaki and Snowanna raced off in a hurry.

"H-hey," Adorabeezle said with a nervous laugh as she walked over, "Congratulations on making it.." _I finally made it on the roster.. At least it didn't take longer than a week. I guess I can use this chance._

"T-thanks," Crumbelina said nervously, "You too.." _She's talking to us?_

"I just wanted to say.." Adorabeezle said hesitantly, "Don't worry about Minty Zaki too much." _I'm a little tired of it myself.._ "I-I don't know what happened, but I just wanted to let you know **I** have nothing against you."

"Why would you?" Taffyta asked as she crossed her arms. _Since you bring it up.._

"Like I said, I don't know what happened," Adorabeezle said, "But she and Snowanna **really** don't like you.." _That's all I wanted to say.._

"She doesn't like any of us?" Rancis asked.

"No.." Adorabeezle said as she rubbed the side of her neck, "Anyways, don't worry about her.. She'll probably get over it. See ya.." She went back to her kart and drove off. _Why'd I have to get stuck in this situation? Minty Zaki needs to chill._

"As if we didn't have enough problems around here," Jubileena said with a sigh. _What did I do this time? I think I would know._

"Is it because I'm using my name instead of Candlehead now?" Minty asked sadly.

"She didn't talk to us much before that either," Taffyta said, "I don't see how she would even know you're using your name now."

"Sorry we're late.." Garret said as he and Leon ran up, out of breath. _Sarge insisted.._

"Sarge had us stay so she could make our outfits part of our characters," Leon said, breathing heavily, "Did you make it?"

"Yeah, we made it," Minty said with a sigh.

"I-I wish I could have seen it!" Leon said nervously. _I didn't expect it to hit her this hard.._ "..So are we still on for the beach?" _Maybe if I change the subject._

"Yeah," Minty said with a small smile. _It's not your fault, Leon.. How should I say it?_

* * *

"And that is where my confidence comes from," Ralph beamed as he stepped down from the stands.

"I have to admit, that was quite fascinating," Gene said reluctantly, "It seems like quite the dangerous sport." _She may be a good match for Ralph after all.. __A__fter all that.._

"We told you," Mary said with a giggle, "And you said it would be boring." _I knew he would like it. It was worth it dragging him along._

"Alright, well I've got to go," Ralph said with a smile as he looked up at them in the stands from the ground.

Vannie ran up to him proudly and said, "I won again, of course."

"Ah Ralph," King Candy said with a smile as he walked up, "Sorry we had you waiting."

"Don't worry about it," Ralph said, "So did you hear about that Adrenaline Rush game?"

"Our cabinets are pretty close to each other, Ralph," Vannie said teasingly, "I even heard your 'I'M GONNA WRECK IT!'"

King Candy laughed and said, "Indeed. We're all looking forward to it."

"Could you tell me more about it?" Ralph asked.

"Sure, let's head to the castle first," King Candy said with a smile. _This is something I should have fixed first of all.. It's been on my mind for a while now._

"Well we kind of have a friend to pick up.." Ralph said.

"It won't take but a minute," King Candy said with a laugh. _It's for the best Ralph, I'm sure you'll agree.  
_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Apologies for the lack of Calhoun in this chapter, she's in the next one though.


	57. Chapter 57 - Descended From Wizards

"Okay, we're here.." Ralph said impatiently as they entered the castle, "So what is it that you wanted?"

"Follow me, Ralph," King Candy said, "Vanellope, you wait here a moment. We won't be long." King Candy led him down to the code room.

Vannie sighed. _What is he having Ralph do down there? __Why shouldn't I go along?_

"Should I be worried?" Ralph said as he looked around at the glowing white-tubed hallway leading to the code room.

"I should hope not," King Candy said with a laugh, "I don't mean to be rude, but it's been bothering me. And I'm almost certain it's been a bother to you as well." He entered the code to the code room, causing the door to roll open. The door itself was more vault-like than the one in the first Sugar Rush game. And several times thicker.

"What are you talking about?" Ralph asked seriously. _Should I be taking offense to something?_

"Ralph.." King Candy said with a sigh as he grabbed Ralph's arms, faced downwards and closed his eyes, "I don't know how to tell you this.."

"Just say it then," Ralph said, getting agitated, "What's the problem here? You're just drawing it out."

"You stink.." King Candy said finally, "You've been bathing regularly, that much I'm happy to know.. But it's not enough, is it?" _There's that uncomfortable stretch of time between then and when the arcade closes._

"Oh, now that hurts.." Ralph said bitterly and sighed. He clenched his fists a few times. _Don't wreck anything. _"But you're right." He sat down, leaning against the wall near the door. "I thought about asking you.." _Think calmly. You don't need to wreck anything._

"Look, Ralph," King Candy said with a sigh, "I know it's frustrating, but I can **fix** this for you. All I need is your go-ahead. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of anyone so I've been holding it in. But it **has** to change." _We may be game characters like everyone else, but we have to project an air of dignity and stability __here._

"Well go ahead," Ralph said with a look of sadness, "It's not like I enjoy smelling like I've never taken anything other than a mud bath." _I also thought about asking him to change a few other things too, but that wouldn't be right.._ He looked down as his right hand as he clenched and unclenched it. _I wouldn't be the same otherwise. __These wreckers are all I've ever known.._

"Thank you, Ralph," King Candy said sincerely, "And I'm sorry that it had to come to this." He sighed in relief. "Well, come along."

"What? You want **me** to go in there?" Ralph asked reluctantly, "You sure that's such a good idea?" _I've only ever been in one code room before, and really all I did was the simplest of tasks after it was explained to me._

"I just assumed you would want to be here," King Candy said, "It shouldn't take but a moment.."

Ralph sighed and followed him into the code room. _Let's get this over with._

"Your code's shortcut would be around here somewhere," King Candy said as he floated off to the left in the darkness, to a cloud of dimly lit code boxes.

"L-look, I'm not so sure I should be here," Ralph said nervously as he looked around. _I'm a wrecker, not a coder._

"But aren't you curious about what your own code looks like?" King Candy asked. _Isn't everyone curious about their own code?_

"I could break something.." Ralph said worriedly.

"I'll be the judge of that," King Candy said while rolling his eyes. He tapped on Ralph's soft orange code box twice, making it expand to twice its size and turn transparent, revealing several files. "What do you see, Ralph?"

Ralph sighed and peered inside, reluctantly. _Of course I'm curious.. But I'd rather not wreck myself._ "I see my skin, that's appearance, right?"

"Uh huh," King Candy said, "What else?" _It's the fastest way to learn about yourself. For instance why I am the way I am.. I never would have known otherwise.._

"Can't you read?" Ralph asked with a bemused expression on his face. _Why are you asking what I see anyways?_

"Just tell me," King Candy said while rolling his eyes again. _Do you even realize the opportunity you have right now?_

"I see.. Food I've eaten recently?" Ralph said, "Why is there a file for that? Uh.. Spill protection? What's that? Look, this stuff doesn't make any sense to me.." _You're the expert here.._

"Oh fine," King Candy said with a sigh, "I'll open it for you since you're so worried." _From what I heard you repaired your own memory before, what's the big deal?_ He tapped on the 'Spill Protection' file twice. "By the looks of it this is what makes mud and select other things roll off of you rather than get stuck. I suspect that comes in handy since you're always getting thrown into mud."

"But why would that even be there?" Ralph asked, "Wouldn't it be easier to just regenerate me back at the starting position of the game afterward?"

"You seem to be misunderstanding the fundamentals of how this all works, Ralph," King Candy said, "No. I suppose that's not your fault.. You see, not every single aspect of our games or lives is written in code, per se. I don't know how to explain this any other way, but when we're programmed, the developer's ideas and feelings themselves flow into the game and form a center.. a core for your very being."

"Okay, wait. Just.. Hang on," Ralph said, "This doesn't make sense to me at all." _Can you say that all again, but more slowly?_

"This, is your core, Ralph. Your soul, if you will." King Candy swiped his hand along the surface of Ralph's code box and a few files whirled around. He delicately tapped on a pitch black file that stopped in the forefront. It had no name or icon. It expanded to reveal one more file which amounted to a text document. "From here, any aspect of your being can be altered, this is why I had you come along. You can learn a lot from yourself like this. Things you never would have known otherwise."

"That.. That's a lot of responsibility.." Ralph said with a sigh as he examined the text which was parsed into paragraphs, "It's like a story.."

"You got lost in the woods one day," King Candy said, "You and your parents were on a camping trip when you were a child.. Perhaps you should read this yourself.."

"Y-yeah.." Ralph said as he ever so slightly floated closer to the core of his being.

* * *

"Mom? Dad?" little Ralph yelled. It was already nightfall in the woods, they'd been hiking all day and they'd been separated for hours. Ralph wasn't concerned at first, he was 12 years old, he could handle hiking alone no problem. _Where did they go?_

A few days went by, he had taken to eating berries he found while trying to find his parents. _Where did they go?_

More time went by and he had taken to hunting the warthogs that for a while were plentiful. He was no good at using tools so he was forced to rely on his growing strength and agility. He decided to make a tree stump his home. _Where did they go?_

Over the years his arms became powerful wrecking machines as he was forced to move onto more dangerous prey for food, there was still no sign of his parents. He had been over every inch of the woods and found nothing, not even remains. _Where did they **go**?_

One night as he went to sleep, a bulldozer moved his stump into a pile of bricks and destroyed a large section of the woods, building an apartment complex dead in the center. The one reminder he had of his parents was gone. _Where did **they** come from?_

"Hey! You moved my stump!" Ralph yelled angrily at this so-called 'Mayor'.

"Look pal," Gene said narrowing his eyes, "I **own** this place." He handed him a piece of paper showing it was his through eminent domain. "So I suggest that **you** beat it. You're trespassing."

That night Ralph went to his relocated home surrounded by bricks. He rapidly pounded some into smaller pieces to at least make a slightly softer bed than what he was used to and laid down, looking at this new building that took the place of the beautiful woods he had grown accustomed to. _Look at them.. What's '__e__minent domain' anyways? They just come here and steal my land.. I've been here for 18__ years.. No.. They __**can't**__ have this place._ He got up angry.

[You can skip this section if you want to, it's just a rewording of gameplay from here until the next scene.]

"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!" Ralph yelled as a warning. _Get out now, this place is coming down._ He climbed the building, smashing windows in his rage, throwing the 'Mayor' out.

"Fix it, Felix!" the inhabitants of the Niceland apartments yelled from their windows. _Who is this scary man?_

That's when 'Fix-It' Felix Jr. the handyman showed up with his magical golden hammer inherited from his father, 'Fix-It' Felix Sr. _I don't know who this guy is, but I have a job to do. Maybe we can talk this over later._

"I CAN FIX IT!" Felix shouted to reassure his employer and neighbors. He began quickly fixing the damage done one window at a time, climbing the building along the window sills dodging bricks.

They eventually climbed to the top of the building.

Felix smiled as they congratulated him and handed him a pie. _Now maybe we can finally come to an understanding._ But then the Nicelanders grabbed Ralph and threw him off the building. He landed in a mud puddle, years of toughening himself paid off as he easily got back up to try again.

* * *

"So that's how it was.." Ralph said, tears filling his eyes, "But where **did** they go?" _I can almost remember.._

"Keep reading, they might have considered that," King Candy said solemnly as he rested a hand on Ralph's shoulder.

"There's a bunch of lines here, a conversation by the looks of it," Ralph said sadly with a chuckle. _How was all of this added in if not by code?_

* * *

[[Oh, but what about the mud?]]

[[Let's just say it rolls off of him. He wouldn't want to contaminate his drinking water by bathing, right?]]

[[Yeah, he probably hasn't bathed since he got lost there.]]

[[But what about his parents? I feel bad about that.]]

[[Well if we ever make a sequel we can turn him into a Good Guy, right? Let's make him and Felix brothers.]]

[[That's good! But his parents are probably dead by now, right? It's been 18 years.. And wouldn't they know each other?]]

[[True, how about we say that their parents split up when Ralph was born and his mother left with him and remarried. Their father kept Felix who was 2 years old at the time so he wouldn't know. Felix took the job there after his father told him on his deathbed about the place Ralph was lost. Felix would totally do something like that.]]

[[Good point. What about that hammer of his though? And how would Felix's father know where Ralph was lost, but not know where he is? Or go looking for him..]]

[[It's magic, we don't have to explain that. Let's just say they're descended from wizards or something. But they're not skilled since their wizard blood is diluted. And their mother told their father what happened years later.]]

[[Wizards? That's stupid. Wouldn't it make more sense that his parents were archaeologists or something and that they discovered the hammer somewhere?]]

[[No **that's** stupid. What's a handyman doing digging up ruins? With handyman relics being there?]]

[[Alright, fine they're wizards, whatever. A wrecking wizard and a handyman wizard, seems legitimate. There's no point in arguing over this. We don't even know if this game will sell enough copies to warrant a sequel.]]

[[You have a point.. Anyways I'm done here.]]

* * *

Ralph laughed. A tear rolled down his left cheek as he said, "Felix really is my brother.. They couldn't really decide anything about our parents other than that they're dead wizards.." _This is ridiculous. Descended from wizards.._

"I'm sorry, Ralph," King Candy said solemnly, "The answers we find aren't always the ones we want.."

"It's fine," Ralph said wiping his eyes, "How's all this here?.. Nevermind, it's not important. So how would I fix this?" He laughed softly. _Felix would get a kick out of this._

"Lightly tap the line you want to change. A keyboard display will appear for you," King Candy said, "It's your code. I'm giving **you** the choice of how to change it.." _It's better that he do it instead of me.. __I have absolute faith in __him__ to make the best decision for __him__self.._

* * *

"I'll see you later, Jet, Crumbelina.." Charley said with a smile and his arms crossed, "I'll see you guys later too. Or should I say 'earlier' since I'm going check out the other Sugar Rush?"

"Alright, just make sure you don't cause any trouble," Jet said, "I imagine that the surge protectors will be watching you." _Not that I think I have to worry._

"I'm not going to cause trouble," Charley said dismissively as he rolled his eyes, "I just want to put all that behind us. So don't worry so much about it. I'm not like your brother. Or Turbo." _If anything I'm __more __like you.._

"Just making sure," Jet said warmly, "Go get 'em."

Charley waved at the group and ran off, headed straight for the other Sugar Rush.

"We should be going too, right?" Jet said with a laugh. _To the beach._

"Did you all remember to bring your swimsuits?" Taffyta asked sweetly, "Ours is in my kart."

"Yep!" Minty said excitedly, "I've been waiting for this!" _Minty Zaki is probably just jealous because we're always on the roster. That has to be it._

* * *

"What's taking him so long?" Calhoun asked sternly, "He's never been one for being punctual, but this is ridiculous."

Ash slowly walked out of the tunnel mumbling to himself, "Takes getting used to.." _At least I can leave __now.._

"Ah, you must be Ash!" Felix said with a grin, "I'm Fix-It Felix Jr., from the **game** Fix-It Felix Jr."

"And I'm his wife. You can call me Tamora," Calhoun said, "There's the stare of disbelief.. Did I say that out loud?" She looked down to Felix. _I did. __Great.._

"Sorry," Ash said, "It's just.." _I didn't mean to.._

"Oh don't worry," Felix said cheerfully, "We get it all the time. Ralph is a friend of ours, but he seems to be running late so we may as well head into Sugar Rush 2 to collect him. That's likely where he's at right now."

"Alright.." Ash said. _I wonder what is keeping him.._

On their way they crossed paths with Jet and the others at the gateway.

"Going to the beach, hmm?" Calhoun said as she noticed them carrying white bags with a pink T on them. _You were in a hurry because of that, right?_

"Ah.. Yeah," Garret said with a nervous smile. _Don't ask to come along, Jubileena will flip. Well she __probably won't,__ but you'll make her uncomfortable._

"Well, have fun," Calhoun said with a sly grin, "Ralph still in there?"

"We saw him and Vanellope headed to the castle with King Candy," Leon said, "The older Vanellope I mean." _Not the one from the other Sugar Rush._

"Just call her Vannie," Taffyta said, "That's been decided for a while now." _You're behind the times, Leon._

"Why thank you," Felix said while tipping his hat happily.

Felix, Calhoun, and Ash went inside Sugar Rush 2 and headed to the castle.

* * *

Vannie was still standing around the entrance when she heard them knock. She opened the door to let them in, much to Sour Bill's relief.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late.." Vannie said sincerely, "Dad wanted Ralph's help with something before we left." _At least that's what I gather from it._

"Well I was able to leave my game on my own," Ash said with a satisfied smile, "That's all I'm really concerned about.. I see you're a fan of pink." _Not the color choice I would go with._

"We call it salmon here," Vannie said jokingly, "But yes, it's pink. Just don't tell my dad that." _He gets defensive._

"So where did they go?" Calhoun asked, "Wouldn't more hands get the job done faster? Or is it heavy lifting?" _I can handle that.._

"Dad didn't say," Vannie said, "They went to the code room though, I think."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So I wanted to try justifying all of the random things found in the game worlds and came up with this, haha.. Basically the 'Black Box' files are 'souls' for characters, as King Candy describes. For places, it's more along the lines of interior designs of buildings that otherwise would have nothing. Bathrooms, stores, etc. are all included in the Black Boxes. They're basically filled with the developers' headcanons while being programmed. As for how it happens? As one of the developers said, "It's magic, we don't have to explain that." Lazy, I know xD.


	58. Chapter 58

Ralph stared at the black box with white text, still dumbfounded. _Could it really be this easy to change something? Is it even my place to decide how to change this?_ Ralph covered his mouth with his hand and adopted a thinking pose. _Yeah, like this will help me think any. I don't want to take any of this away. I also don't especially need anything better.. I've got everything I ever wanted already minus smaller hands, but that's who I am. I don't need to change that, besides I have a job to do, the kids would notice anyway.._ He sighed and tapped it to create a new line. _I suppose that all I could ask for is to __not__ regenerat__e__ as someone who has__n't bathed for 18 years__.. All that would do is save me some time.. How about when I get dirty otherwise? _He chuckled and began to carefully and slowly type with the corners of the tips of his fingers while shaking his head.

[[Since they're descended from wizards, he's clean with the snap of his fingers and faintly smells like a soft summer breeze.]]

Ralph chuckled. _Ridiculous. __I might as well smell nice if I'm going to be clean._He typed one more line.

[[And he doesn't have to worry about hurting anyone or breaking anything unintentionally. He knows how to control his strength almost perfectly after all those years of training alone in the woods. Even when he's asleep.]]

Ralph sighed. _That's really the only thing I __need to make sure of__.. Could anyone blame me for this?_ "Is this **really** okay?" he asked worriedly. _I don't even know __if__ this will work._

"Descended from wizards?" King Candy asked with a laugh, "I don't see why not. You're doing fine." _Now that's hilarious._ _Soft summer breeze, indeed.. _He chuckled to himself a bit more quietly. _I suppose that's one way of doing it._

Ralph rolled his eyes and considered typing one last line. _No.. I've done enough._ He saved the changes and sighed. _Did I do the right thing?_

"So Ralph the Magnificent," King Candy said with a laugh, "Why don't you try your magic trick?" _Descended from wizards.._

Ralph tried to snap but failed then said, "One moment." He pulled up the file again and added one last line.

[[He knows how to snap his fingers.]]

Ralph closed the file again. _I didn't know how to snap.. _He snapped his fingers and there was a whirling breeze around him with faint sparkles. He inhaled deeply through his nose and said, "Okay, well.. It works, I guess." _I definitely feel clean, smells okay too._

"Alright, now let's go Mighty Wizard," King Candy said with a laugh, "This will never get old, you realize?" _So he was concerned about his strength after all.._

"Y-yeah, yeah," Ralph said trying to mask his embarrassment. _I wonder what the others are doing.. What would they think about what I just did?_

They floated back to the hallway connecting the code room with the rest of the game and the vault-like door to the code room closed behind them. Vannie, Felix, Calhoun, and Ash were waiting for them.

"So how did it go?" Vannie asked curiously, "What'd you do?"

"Oh, just sorting something out," King Candy said with a smile, "A small thing, really." _It's a bit personal.._

"When code is involved it's seldom a small thing," Calhoun said sternly while narrowing her eyes. _Something happened that you're not telling us._

Ralph shrugged and said, "It isn't anything to **worry** about. He was just showing me something in my code, that's all." _Should I tell them what I did? It's really no big deal, right?_

"Showed you what, exactly?" Felix asked, "It must be something worth showing in that case, right?" _Why does it feel like he's hiding something?_

"Just my hidden backstory," Ralph said reluctantly, "I guess that's what you'd call it.. I don't quite understand how it works myself.."

"Why would it be hidden?" Felix asked, "I didn't know we even had backstories aside from what was in the song." _Wreck-It Wreck-It Ralph.. Now it'll be stuck in my head all day._

"It's just something everyone is programmed with," King Candy said with a laugh, "No one **really** knows how it all works, but whatever the developers decide for your character makes it into the game as a file, somewhat separate from the rest of your code. They probably don't even know it's there themselves." _I see no reason why not to tell them __that much.._

"So what'd you see then?" Vannie asked. _As your girlfriend __I__would like to know._

"Well, when I was 12 I got separated from my our mother and my adoptive father in the woods where the Niceland apartments were built 18 years later.." Ralph said with a sigh, "I hunted animals to survive and apparently Felix and I are blood brothers, his father remarried as well." _Descended from wizards._

"T-that.." Felix said as it sunk in, "We're brothers?!" He grinned ear to ear. "That's fantastic!" _So he __was alive after all this time.. _"But wait.. What about our names? Wreck-It and Fix-It.."

"Are those really even family names?" King Candy asked, "Couldn't that just be your titles?" _As wizards.._ He laughed.

"What's so funny, Dad?" Vannie asked. _There's something else.._

"Don't say it," Ralph pleaded and covered his eyes, "It's ridiculous.." _I mean, come on.._

"Are you sure?" King Candy asked with a laugh, "Perhaps I should.." _There's no hiding it now!_

"It sounds interesting," Ash said with a smile. _I'd like to explore the arcade a bit more, these guys probably forgot I was even here. __Best to make my presence known again._

"A-alright, look.." Ralph said with a sigh, "We're supposedly descended from wizards.." _Let's get this out of the way.. _He rolled his eyes.

"Ralphie's a wizard?" Vannie asked as they started laughing, "That's rich! What kind of magic tricks can you do?" _I wanna see! _She gave him a hug. _Don't take the laughing too hard._

* * *

As Jet and the others walked into Hero's Duty, they were met with Loya and Marco.

Jet's blood ran cold. _I forgot I was going to see him eventually.. What should I say?_

"So you must be Jet," Loya said with a hint of bitterness, "I see you've become quite popular.." _Even Spears and Markowski. Spears especially I'm surprised by._

"N-no.. I wouldn't really say that.." Jet said nervously. _Of course he'd still be bitter about it. __If not outright hating me.._

"Loya.." Garret said with a sigh. _I understand, trust me.. __But chill out._

"No no," Loya said while raising his hands in defeat, "I've come to accept it. I've seen enough by now. But tell me Jet.." He moved closer to him. "Tell me you're **sorry**. Make it up to me. That's what you're hoping to do, isn't it? Let's see what you come up with." _It's the least you can do, isn't it?_

"Aren't you taking that a bit far?" Taffyta asked coldly, "We get that you're mad, but you're starting to look a little crazy." _You've got the eyes of a loon right now._

Loya sighed frustratedly and said, "Maybe.. You don't think I'm enjoying all this, do you?" _You think I like getting all twisted out of shape seeing the person that controlled me for a few months turn into some super nice guy? How am I supposed to __feel about this__?_

"I **am** sorry," Jet said sincerely, "I-I've done something unforgivable to you. It's not like I can just take all that back." _What should I do?_

"I just want to know where **that** attitude was when you were controlling me," Loya said in an annoyed tone, "It sure didn't help me any." _Do you even know?_

"I have no excuse.." Jet said nervously, "I just.. It was already too late.." _I couldn't just turn back.. I'd have been walking to my death for all I know.._ "So when I got caught.."

"So when you got caught you saw a chance, right?" Loya said, "A chance to get off the hook. Sure, you became a good person for it. I have no problem admitting that much.. But did you do it for yourself, or did you **really** feel bad about everything that happened?"

"B-both.." Jet said nervously, "Of course it was both of those reasons.." _That's exactly right, but __I've been honest about this from the beginning.._

"I thought so.." Loya said with a sigh while cradling the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "Alright Marco, let's go.." _Tapper's is calling. __I'll have him help me out with something later. I'm not unreasonable._

As Loya and Marco started to leave, Jet nervously asked, "Would could I do?.. To make it up to you, I mean.." _If it's something I __**can**__ do.._

"I'll think of something.." Loya said, "Until then do whatever, I don't care." _I need a drink.._

Loya and Marco left.

Jet took a deep breath. _That went well.._

"Don't bail on us now," Rancis said with a smile as he nudged Jet's shoulder. _It's not like we didn't already know about this. No need to get bent out of shape._

"You look like you're about to have a heart attack," Jubileena said, "Take a few more deep breaths while you're at it." _I hope he knows that was meant to be a joke._

"Yeah," Taffyta said, "Besides, he seems like he won't be trouble."

"You don't think I'd go run off somewhere do you?" Jet said, "I'm just.. nervous.." _I didn't expect the reaction he had.._

"He'll get over it," Garret said, "I understand how he feels though.." _But I'm over it._

Crumbelina hugged Jet from the side briefly and said, "Well we're going to the beach, aren't we? Let's go." _We're here to enjoy ourselves for crying out loud. Don't worry so much about him. Like Garret said, he'll get over it.. I'm such a hypocrite._

"Yeah!" Minty said, trying to sound enthusiastic. _First Minty Zaki and now this other guy.. Jet's sorry, can't we all just move past this?_

"Alright," Leon said, "Well that went better than I expected it to actually. I thought Garret and I would end up talking to him about it.." _You're lucky Jet. __I n__ever would have expected him to come around on his own like that. Maybe we can __**finally**__ have to real peace around here._

They finally went to the beach.

* * *

"I still can't believe we actually agreed to this.." Luke said with a sigh, "This is already annoying." _It was all or nothing for her.. Why'd we have to merge in the first place?_

"I'm not happy with it either," Luuke said with a sigh, "But what alternative did we have? And we made her cry again.." _She almost dumped us both.._

"So how are we actually going to make this work?" Luke asked disappointedly, "Should we stick with what we decided before and alternate days?" _I can't really think of a better option._

"Well it's either that or alternate **half**-days," Luuke said, "I think alternating days would probably be easier to manage." _I can't really think of a better option._

"True," Luke said, "You think one of us should change our hair?" _That way we're easier for her to distinguish between._

"I don't see why not," Luuke said, "But I should keep our original hairstyle since **you** get our name. It's only fair." _Extending the U sound is annoying in itself. Maybe I can get her to say it normally when we're alone.._

Luke sighed and said, "Fine." _Emi had better appreciate this. Well I know she does, it's no__t much__ different for her.. But now I have to share with this fool. __I guess I'm calling myself a fool too.._

"I'm thinking the same thing," Luuke said with a sigh, "At least I have that feeling.." _And it's so__ frustrating.. But it sure beats not having her at all.. And I can finally move as I want to._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I figured I might as well throw in some Lukes. No banter this time, sorry. Just serious business. I still can't believe I actually went through with the option that Emi keeps them both as boyfriends.

Ralph will never live down that he's 'descended from wizards'. Felix won't mind so much.

Next chapter should be more lighthearted.


	59. Chapter 59

Taffyta sighed happily as she floated face up in the shallow water of the beach. She and Rancis went off on their own a good distance away, still within sight of the others who were trying to keep a large beach ball from landing in the water. "It feels like I've been waiting for this for weeks now," she said with a wide smile as she looked over to Rancis who was making hand gestures, "..Don't you dare.." She laughed as he began tickling her, or he tried to at least. "You'd better not make me choke on this water." She stopped floating and crouched just low enough for only her head to be above water. _You'll regret it if I do._

"Would that **really** be my fault?" Rancis asked with a mischievous grin as he lowered himself so that their heads were even. _If you're not going to be __sweet on your own, I'll tease it out of you._

"Yes!" Taffyta said as she backed away some and splashed water into his face, "I know what you're trying to do, you know. It's not gonna work." _Too much lovey dovey-ness is a dangerous thing._

"Oh?" Rancis asked, "And what might that be?" _We'll never know until I try._

"You're really going to make me spell it out, aren't you?" Taffyta said with an annoyed smile.

"Well that's the only way we can be sure we're on the same page, right?" Rancis asked with a smile. _I'm glad those guys aren't bothering us at least. Well, not so much __**bother**__**ing**__, but.._

"You're trying to entice me into bringing my sweet side out," Taffyta said, "There. I said it." She got the honeyglow in her cheeks. _It's not that I don't want it.._

"You're blushing," Rancis said teasingly. _Of __**course**__ that's what I'm doing._

"Like I said, it's not gonna work," Taffyta said playfully then stuck out her tongue, "I'll let you know when, don't worry." She ruffled his hair before dunking his head underwater. _Good things come to those who wait._

* * *

"I guess they wanted to go play alone," Garret said with a smirk. _Go have your alone time, I don't mind. Jubileena probably appreciates it._

"You said it like that on purpose, didn't you?" Jubileena said wryly. _Is he trying to do this?_

"Like what?" Garret ask with a laugh, "Well they're not here with **us**." _I guess it could be taken a bit more perversely.. Not really what I meant though._

Leon smirked but didn't say anything. _Dirty minds think alike?_ The beach ball bounced off his head. _Oh?_

"Pay attention, Leon," Minty said happily. _Don't get distracted now._

"Why didn't I know about this place?" Jet wondered aloud, "A-as long as I've been here.." _Here I go again bringing this subject up.. Let's not make anything out of it please._

"No idea," Garret said as he lightly tapped the beach ball upwards in Jet's direction, "**I** knew about it. Leon knew about it. There probably wasn't any reason for you to expect there to be a beach here. It's not like we've ever come here before." _Not __either of us__, anyways.._

"I-I guess that makes sense," Jet said modestly as he tapped the beach ball towards Crumbelina, "I never really looked too deeply.." _What I did was already too personal._ _And it's hard to grab a memory if you don't know it's there anyways._

"You sure bring it up a lot.." Jubileena said, "J-just making an observation.." _I really need to think more before I speak.._

"I-I know," Jet said with a nervous sigh, "It just slips out sometimes. The only reason I was never caught before was because I-I was wearing Loya's personality. I guess you could say it like that anyways.. I'm terrible at keeping secrets otherwise.. I don't want to give the impression that I enjoyed doing it.." _It's just the games themselves that I enjoyed.._

"Relax," Leon said in the friendliest manner he could muster, "It's done with already." _I already had a pretty good feeling that's how you __were__, judging by the way the girls and Rancis defend you._ _Even Sarge implied as much._

"Besides.." Garret said and cleared his throat, "If it weren't for what you did, I might have never even met Jubileena.. Or by the time I did it could've been too late." _I need to stop being so sappy. Especially around anyone except Jubileena. For crying out loud.._ "This result isn't bad at all." _It's easier thinking about it that way._

"Well you don't have to worry about **that**, now do you?" Jubileena asked with a laugh as she hugged him briefly. _I'm glad I met you first too._

Crumbelina stood there smiling next to them holding the beach ball steady on side of her. _I don't even have to say anything in his defense. Good. Loya is the only one to kind of worry about, but he just wants a favor __judging from__ what he said.._

"It's the same way for me with Minty," Leon said happily, "I couldn't be much happier." _I don't even care how that might have sounded._

"And what could make you happier, I wonder?" Minty asked playfully. _Tell me?_

Leon whispered into Minty's ear, making her blush and giggle. _I hope that wasn't too loud._

"So that's what you meant," Minty said with a shy smile. _I'll think about it._

"I **may** have heard that," Crumbelina said with a wry smile. _Leon is that type of guy, hmm?_

"What?" Jubileena asked with a smile, "I think I'd like to hear this too." _It might not be perverted judging by Crumbelina's reaction._

Crumbelina whispered into Jubileena's ear, making her jaw drop, leading into a wide smile. _Shh.._

"Is there something I shouldn't know?" Garret asked. _Maybe she'll tell me later? __Or maybe I can get Leon to tell me later. Or maybe I could get __**Sarge**__ to ask him. No, that would be too much.._

"Or me?" Jet asked. _Is it a girl thing? __I feel like I need to know this if it's making Crumbelina so __happy.._

"It's nothing," Jubileena said wryly. _This is a good group.._

"Don't worry about it," Crumbelina said just as wryly. _It's a secret. I won't even tell Taffyta. Especially not her._

"I'll think about it.." Minty said with a shy smile as she rubbed the top of Leon's head.

"S-shall we continue our game then?" Leon asked while wrapping his arm around Minty's waist under the water. _That leaves me optimistic.._

* * *

"I can wreck things really well.." Ralph said, trying to mask his embarrassment with confidence.. _There's really no avoiding this?_

"Who **didn't** know that?" Vannie said while rolling her eyes, "What's the magic trick you're hiding? Or are there multiple? I wanna see!" She smiled knowingly. _You can't fool me._

"It's embarrassing.." Ralph said plainly, "I'll tell you later." _I think I just made things worse by saying that._

"Something **we** shouldn't know?" Calhoun asked as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. _What could it be? It's embarrassing.. __O__kay. But what does that mean?_ She blew her hair out of her eyes. _That one bit of hair is always getting in the way._

"You can tell us, brother," Felix said with a warm smile. _It's a load off my mind knowing that the brother I'd been looking for is Ralph. I didn't even remember Dad said I had one.. And he never even told me Ralph's name.. __I should have made this connection. Maybe I started to. That's__ probably why I've been calling him brother.. I think I ought to have a look at my code too, I'd suspect.. Maybe later._

"..Alright, **fine**," Ralph said in an annoyed tone, "If you won't lay off about it I'll show you. But let's get out of here first.." _How am I going to get out of this without embarrassing myself too much?_

"Come to think of it.." Vannie said as they got into the throne room, "How'd you get clean so fast?" _I'm pretty sure he was dirty before going in there.._ She smelled his arm. "Doesn't stink.." She smiled mischievously. _Is that it? Did I figure it out? What scent is this anyways? Smells kind of like our game. Maybe near the exit?..  
_

Ralph sighed and rolled his eyes. _So much for revealing it myself in a more wizard-like fashion. I can't believe the developers would decide something like that.._

"That **is** it!" Vannie said teasingly. _If only you knew before it would have saved us some trouble, you know? But why does it make you smell like our game, I wonder? I guess it doesn't matter.  
_

"Maybe.." Ralph grumbled. _She __**would**__ figure it out._

Ralph snapped his fingers and a whirling breeze swept across him and Vannie with faint magic sparkles coming off of them.

"Woah!" Vannie said with a surprised laugh, "What was that?" _I feel cleaner.. Is it because I'm holding __Ralph's arm?_

"Tada.." Ralph grumbled. _I was going to keep this my little secret for as long as possible, but I realize now that it couldn't have stayed a secret longer than a day with her around._

"So that's it?" Calhoun asked before she burst out laughing, "That's rich! Why haven't you used that before?" _Certainly could have used that sooner.._

"I.. I didn't **know** about it until now.." Ralph said, "Cut me a little slack, alright?" _I'd rather no one else know I rewrote part of myself.. Not that I changed much.._

"Me next, brother," Felix said with a laugh as he grabbed onto his arm. _I think this is all it took, right?_

"Me too!" King Candy said with a laugh as he grabbed Ralph's wrist. _Sorry Ralph, this is too much fun!_

"I think I could use it more than any of you.." Ash said plainly. _Look at me, I'm filthier than Ralph was I'm sure. All this mud, dried blood from scrapes.. _He stood next to King Candy and grabbed Ralph's arm.

"You see? This is **exactly** why I didn't want to say anything," Ralph said while clenching his fists. _You all think this is so funny.._

"We're just teasing you, Ralph," Calhoun said with a big grin as she patted him on the back, "Just do it again and it'll be all over.. mostly." _I could use a bit of a refresh._

Ralph sighed and snapped his fingers, cleaning the lot of them. "You'd better appreciate this," he said bitterly, "I'll start charging for it." _Charging what? Like we even have actual money.._

"I'd like to see you try," Vannie said teasingly, "It's all good. You're a fine wizard, Ralph." She hugged him tightly as the others let go of him and backed away. _I can now say I'm going out with a wizard. Should I ever have the urge to say so.. Just wait until Vanellope finds out._

"Well **that's** a relief.." Ralph said with a sarcastic laugh. _Changing the subject._ "So where would you like to go, Ash?"_ His shirt's still all torn up even though it's clean now. I guess it was always meant to be like that._ "Oh wait! I gotta go see Vanellope!" _There should still be time!_

_Nothing to worry about._ Ralph smiled and lifted Vannie up, holding her gently into his shoulder with one hand as he ran to the castle door and kicked it open. They couldn't help but laugh as Vannie wrapped her arms around his neck in order to hang on. He ran out of the castle and placed Vannie into her kart and hopped on the back. "Let's go!" he said excitedly.

"Follow that Ralph!" King Candy said with an excited laugh, "It's about **time** I've had a day out!" _It's good to see him in such high spirits._

"Hang on!" Felix said with a laugh as he fixed the door. _Ralph, I don't know what's gotten into you, but it melts my heart to see you so happy. But don't use your 'wreckin' magic' all over the place.. I wonder what I'd find in my code.._

They began the great Ralph Hunt. Well, that's what King Candy considered it at least.

* * *

**Author's Note: **It's probably fairly obvious what Leon whispered into Minty's ear, but all the same I'm not going to say what it is unless it's to someone who guesses correctly on their first try.


	60. Chapter 60

"Bleh," Rancis said as he picked his head up out of the water, "You made me swallow some water.." _Disgusting._

"Was that **really** my fault?" Taffyta asked teasingly. _See what I did there, Rancis?_

"Ha ha.." Rancis said with a sigh, "So then what shall we do? You want to go back to the others?" _We did come to the beach with them, after all._

"Let's wait until their game is over.." Taffyta said with a sigh. _I don't need you watching me bounce._

"And in the meantime?" Rancis asked. _Just sitting here in the water is a little.._

"Why don't you go make a sugar castle or something?" Taffyta asked, "I'm perfectly content relaxing here." _Did I just say..?_

"Tut tut," Rancis said with a laugh, "**Sand** castle." _There's no sugar here._

"Do you want me to dunk you again?" Taffyta asked with an annoyed smile. _I __guess I __did say sugar castle.._

"If I start to drown will you give me mouth to mouth?" Rancis asked wryly.

Taffyta sighed and said, "Never change, Rancis. Never change." _It's nice to have someone that can dish it out as well as take it._

"There isn't anything on your mind, is there?" Rancis asked.

"Not especially," Taffyta said plainly. _Maybe a little._

"That's not a straight answer, so the answer is yes," Rancis said.

"I just.." Taffyta said with a sigh, her eyes watering, "I don't want our relationship to be based solely on physical intimacy." _Why am I even starting to cry right now? I know __he isn't like that__. What's wrong with me?_

"It won't be," Rancis said sincerely as he placed his hand on her cheek and wiped away a tear with his thumb, "I can relate to that mindset. I mean, have we really even done anything physical aside from the occasional kiss and sharing a bed?" _I know I bring it up occasionally, but you know I can wait.. I've __already __waited years __after all__. __As far as our backstory goes at least.._

"No.." Taffyta said sincerely, "It's just.. It feels like if we do go any further, then we won't be able to just sit back and enjoy things like this anymore.." _Like releasing the floodgates.._

"What makes you say that?" Rancis asked, a hint of sadness in his voice, "You know I'm fine with whatever you want to do. I've been behind you a hundred percent since day one." _Racing is different._

"I never said it made **sense** for me to feel like this.." Taffyta said with a sniffle, "And besides, there's just too much going on right now with Jet almost getting killed and then now there's Minty Zaki and Snowanna apparently hating us.." She hugged him. "I just need time to sort this all out in my head, okay?" _Just let me stay like this a while.._

"Alright," Rancis said softly as he rubbed her back and waited a moment, "Hey.. you want to go make a sand castle with me?" _I won't bring it up again.._

Taffyta laughed and pushed his hair back. "Never change.." she said sweetly before tenderly kissing him on the lips, "Let's go make that sand castle.." She smiled. "And no! That **isn'****t** a euphemism." _Just in case.._

"Fair enough," Rancis said with a laugh. _I didn't think it was one anyways._

* * *

Later.

"Had fun you two?" Jubileena asked playfully as Taffyta and Rancis trudged over.

"Uh huh," Rancis said. _I didn't know she felt that way.. I'm supposed to pick up on these things._

"Don't mind him," Taffyta said with a laugh, "So did we miss anything?" _We were gone a while.._

"Nope," Minty said shyly, "We were just talking about how cool it is that we have the beach all to ourselves." _It's a secret, remember? And it's true that there aren't any citizens here like our game __has__.._

"So why **aren't** there any people here besides us?" Jubileena asked, "It's great and all, but our game has tons of audience members and citizens. I don't even see other military types." _Of course they usually stay in town. Schweetz.. I guess we really should have known the town was called that._

"Technically it's supposed to be under lockdown," Garret said. _I wasn't going to say anything, but since they ask.._

"Yeah," Leon said, "You see, in our game's backstory we had come back to resupply and.." _Would Sarge mind if we say what happened?_ He looked over to Garret.

"It should be fine if they know. Kohut already told Felix about it months ago," Garret said with a sigh as he scratched his forehead, "We also came back here to 'Earth' so that Sarge and Dr. Brad Scott could get married.. It's not really her fault, but because Sarge's backstory says that she forgot to do a spot check before we left.. A baby Cy-bug had stowed away on our ship and eventually grew, then began laying eggs. The one that stowed away.. It crashed the wedding and ate Brad before they could even say 'I do'.. After that the area was put on lockdown and evacuated until we could be sure they were all dealt with. Some people refused to leave, as you can see from some restaurants remaining open.. But most people stay inside unless they really have to go somewhere." _We __**should**__ be able to take the place off lockdown though.. __There aren't any Cy-bugs here._

"J-just don't bring it up. For obvious reasons.." Leon said worriedly. _She doesn't need a reminder. She's married to Felix now, but the trauma of losing Brad is still there somewhere.. I would imagine that Felix keeps her mind off of him for the most part at least.. She's definitely been happ__y__._

"That's so sad.." Minty said somberly. _I can't believe someone would have a backstory that sad.._

"I-it's okay.." Leon said nervously. _Look what I did.. _"She's got Felix now. She's perfectly happy.." _She sure seems happier than with Brad at least. As unlikely a pair that __she and Felix __make._

"It's still depressing," Jubileena said, "How could the developers do that to someone? Even if they **do** think we're just programs.." _Do they just have no sympathy at all?_

"Well ours aren't especially all that sugarcoated either," Taffyta said, "I mean look at Vannie's.. Her parent's died in front of her when she was 9. King Candy is just her adoptive father." _Having to watch her parents die in a kart crash.. Who dies in a kart crash anyways? Was it modded to go faster or something? __I could have done without remembering.._

"Don't remind me.." Minty said sadly. _Someone brighten the mood again, please?_

"S-so who's hungry?" Rancis asked, "I know I am." _This subject is a bit uncomfortable to say the least._

"Me," Minty said with a sigh while raising her hand slightly.

"Yeah, I'm a bit hungry too," Leon said.

"So where's a good place to eat around here?" Crumbelina asked. _Good, we can get away from this subject. At least we had __a good time for a while._

* * *

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden, Ralph?" Vannie asked, still laughing at Ralph's display of.. _What would I even call that?_ She drove off hastily before the others caught up and got into King Candy's kart. "You seem so full of energy right now." _It's a good thing._

"You kidding me?" Ralph asked happily, "I feel great. It's like a huge weight's been lifted off my shoulders." _Even though I got teased about the whole wizard thing.. What I'm happy about is that I know I don't have to worry about hurting anyone anymore. I'd like to try the limits to that on something. 'Almost perfectly' could mean I could punch something with all my might, but not break it if I don't want it to break.. What use that would be is anyone's guess.._

"I'm glad," Vannie said sweetly, "So what was it like looking into your code?" _I haven't even seen mine.._

"It was.. weird," Ralph said happily, "It's like getting hit by a wave of clarity. Everything just suddenly makes sense. I remember having had parents that loved me, even though we got separated somehow and they never found me.." _That part wasn't so great. _"My run in with the Nicelanders in my backstory wasn't so great, but because of that I found out I have a brother, even though I was already friends with him.. Oh, and of course I don't have to worry about being filthy anymore, and it turns out I really don't have to worry about hurting anyone.." _A little whi__te__ lie here._ "The developers were at least that considerate."

"So is that really the only two 'spells' you know, mighty wizard?" Vannie asked teasingly.

"Yes, really," Ralph said with a laugh, "I hope you don't mind having a two-trick wizard."

"Are you kidding?" Vannie asked with a laugh, "The two you've got are great. Vanellope will be ecstatic."

"My dad's a wizard?!" Ralph said trying to imitate her voice, "This is so exciting!"

"You do realize she's going to be getting dirty on purpose, right?" Vannie asked knowingly. _It's something I'd have done as a kid, so I don't doubt for a second she will._

"Oh I'm sure she will," Ralph said with a laugh, "Just don't tell her, I want to freak her out first." _It'll take her by surprise._

"You're a great dad, aren't you?" Vannie said with a smile.

Ralph sighed happily and said, "I guess so." _I try._

"I mean it," Vannie said happily, "I remember the first time I saw you two together when we were having dinner with Dad. The way you comforted her even though you couldn't remember who she was.. I think that's when I started falling for you.." _It made me jealous.._

"I didn't pick up on it," Ralph said with a chuckle, "It took Vanellope asking me if she was getting in our way for me to even make that connection.." _I felt like an idiot. I __**was**__ an idiot._

"Oh **really**?" Vannie asked, "And when was this?" _The three of us were together the whole time except for on the __monorail.__. And that was when she left __**us**__ alone for a while._

"Remember when she took us to your version of Diet Cola Mountain?" Ralph asked, "When you were throwing rocks at the mentos and I was walking around with her trying to remember things.."

"Oh," Vannie said with a laugh, "I was so focused on knocking at least one down, I didn't realize."

"You should see **her** aim," Ralph said with a laugh, "She gets them one for one.. She's had a lot of practice." _15 years of practice.._

"Hey, Ralph? Can you tell me something?" Vannie asked sincerely. _I'd really rather not bring it up, but it bothered me._

"Uh, sure?" Ralph said hesitantly. _This will be awkward, I can tell._

"If you had had more time with me before meeting her and we had started going out.." Vannie said, "Would you have still had that problem with seeing us as the same person just one older than the other?"

Ralph sighed and said, "Oh boy.. Uh.. Probably not, I think. I mean, I wouldn't have suddenly had romantic feelings for her, if that's what you're asking. It'd be more like 'oh look how adorable you were'.." _So she didn't get over that.._

"You saying I'm not adorable?" Vannie asked teasingly before taking a more serious tone, "That's not what I was asking at all.. I meant.. Would you have broken up with me when you started remembering her?" _I don't think the answer to that is yes.._

"I.. I would have tried making it work.." Ralph said sincerely while softly nudging her back with his finger, "It **hurt** me to say that on the monorail." _It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. _"That I needed to think about it.. I may not have had much time to mull it over between Diet Cola Mountain and the ride on the monorail, but when Vanellope brought it up, everything started making sense.. I'm not exactly wired too well up here you know. I wanted nothing more at the time than to be able to answer your feelings immediately, but there was this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that if I did, I'd lose something important.."

"Did you figure out what that something was?" Vannie asked seriously. _What would you have lost? You had everything to gain.._

"Vanellope's trust, I guess.." Ralph said solemnly, "She was the one that brought it up so I should have known then, but I just had the feeling that she would feel I didn't need her anymore. That I had traded her up for a different model.."

"She **was** feeling something like that.." Vannie said solemnly as tears started threatening to fall, "When we were merged together and I started becoming the dominant personality in our shared body.. We had passed out in the code room, I guess from the pain of the headaches. We had this weird dream where we were in her game talking to each other. She wanted to disappear for us, Ralph. I tried to talk her out of it thinking that she really would disappear." She couldn't hold the tears back anymore. "It felt like she really would disappear **anyway** for a while even after I nearly talked her out of it. She started fading away.." She laughed and sniffled. "But it turns out that the King Candy from her game was really just separating us back into two people.." _I was so relieved.._

"Vanellope can be a very considerate girl," Ralph laughed as tears streamed down his cheeks, "I can't bear the thought of losing either one of you.."

"Then don't think about it," Vannie said, sniffling again, "It's not going to happen." She laughed. "You've got us under your spell. We're not going anywhere." _You had a third and didn't even know it._

"I still don't know how I can make up for what I did to you on the monorail.." Ralph said as he wiped his eyes. _I can only imagine how painful that must have been.._

"You already did, Ralph," Vannie said proudly as she neared the exit of Sugar Rush 2, "You did that long ago." _Days really, but it feels like a long time.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey, cheer up.

I realize that there's no Felix and Calhoun this chapter. Sorry about that, but it just turned out this way.


	61. Chapter 61

"You would think that with Ralph's size he wouldn't be so quick on his feet.." Ash said jokingly as he, Felix and Calhoun rode with King Candy in his kart, "How does he do it?" _Magic?_

"Magic," Calhoun said wryly. _I won't let him live this down. Neither will Vannie or Vanellope I'm certain._ "I suppose that means that my little man here is also a wizard."

"Jiminy jaminy.." Felix said while rolling his eyes, "I guess it makes sense, but you would think that I'd remember." _I wonder who was programmed first between me and Ralph. Was it done by the same person or two people working side by side maybe? __Must have been done side by side, otherwise I wouldn't have been looking for a brother, and Ralph wouldn't have known he had one. __What other spells should I know? Am I just highly specialized with this hammer of mine? Or is the pie effect part of it?_

"Don't think **too** hard about it," Calhoun said jokingly as she threw her arm around Felix. _You got that look in your eyes._

"So I was kind of wondering.." Ash said, "Does anyone think it's a little weird that Ralph's girlfriend is modeled after the girl he adopted as his own?"

"I knew this subject would pop up eventually.." Calhoun said seriously, "It's not really any more weird than falling in love with someone who has a twin.. In fact it's less weird considering the age difference." _I had that explanation prepared in case it came up._

"Well.. Yeah, I get that," Ash said, "That's why I never said anything until now, but it's just kind of funny, you know?" _I didn't really think of it that way though. __I'm not even saying it's messed up or anything, just weird._

"You just have to realize," Felix said, "They may be the same character, one older than the other, but they're not the same person." _Ralph struggled with that too at first or so he says._

"Well I'm not even saying there's anything **wrong** with it," Ash said defensively, "Just that it's out of the ordinary." _I guess I shouldn't have mentioned it. They seem touchy about this subject._

"Oh, what's ordinary these days?" King Candy asked with a laugh. _Have you seen even half the people in this arcade?_ "I do feel bad for my Sugar Rush counterpart though.." He sighed. "I can only imagine how he must feel about Ralph adopting his.. adoptive daughter. He at least gets to talk with her normally, but things would be different if Turbo had never taken control of him.." _I won't say it out loud, but Ralph is a better choice anyways considering __how busy __'Kane'__ and I are __anyways__. I __**still**__ need to work on the restaurant and ice cream shop__ myself__. __And my counterpart has been helping out Zombie __ever since he left Diet Cola Mountain__._

"Would you mind going into a bit more detail with that?" Ash asked, "I've only heard bits and pieces." _It seems like an interesting story._

It was briefly explained to him.

"Oh. Well, I can definitely see how she'd be traumatized by that.." Ash said, "But since she's had it so rough why didn't she just have you or him erase all that? It's not like it was **his** fault." _You would have been able to do that, surely.._

"Did you want **your** memory to be erased?" King Candy asked with an eyebrow raised. _I won't do that even if you do.. It's bad enough I had to erase memories about something as dangerous as code rooms. From two people no less._

Ash thought a moment before saying, "No.. I guess not.." _I should have thought about __i__t a bit more, __I guess__._

"It's the same thing," King Candy said, "She didn't want anything to change who she is."

"Sorry I asked.." Ash said, "It's just a lot for a kid to shoulder." _For anyone, really._

"That's what she's got Ralph for," Calhoun said, "Have you even **seen** how happy he makes her?"

"Got it.. Can't this thing go any faster?" Ash asked, "We haven't caught up with them at all." _Let's talk about something else._

"She's faster than I am, what do you expect?" King Candy asked with a laugh. _I still haven't beaten her even once since we got plugged in as far as the Random Roster Race goes._ "At least we know where they're going."

* * *

"Alright, now let's hurry," Ralph said with a smile, "We want to stay ahead of them don't we?" _If they're not here, they can't go __'__wizard this__'__'__wizard that__'__.. __Sorry, Ash. __Y__ou __at least have those__ three to keep __you__ company._

"I never knew you liked to race," Vannie said jokingly.

"You may be rubbing off on me a bit," Ralph said happily as he glanced down to look her in the eye._ I guess I am brimming with energy right now. I can't really help __i__t._

"Maybe I should have a look at my code too at some point," Vannie said with a smile as they quickly made their way to the monorail leading to Game Station East, "Since seeing yours made you so happy." _I wonder what mine has in store.._

As they sat down in the mostly-empty monorail Ralph said, "We're sitting in the same seats as that time, aren't we?" _I really shouldn't __have brought__ it up again. Brain, why are you doing this to me?_

"It's alright," Vannie said with a laugh, "These are good seats now." She leaned into his arm. "If it weren't for that time, none of this might have happened.. If I hadn't said anything.." _It was painful at first, but that was __fixed after a while._

"I.. certainly wouldn't have been the one to say anything," Ralph said nervously, "I didn't expect you would feel that way about me in the first place." _In addition to the other issue._

"Why's that?" Vannie asked. _Give yourself more credit __here__._ "You said so yourself before, you have a lot going for you.."

"W-well, I'm talking about how I felt back then.." Ralph said, "I mean, I'm not the **most** handsome." _I __do have a __**bit**__ of excess weight even if it is mostly muscle._

"Aww, you're plenty good lookin'," Vannie said as she reached up and ruffled his hair, "I like everything about you. Well, except for when you go 'Oh you can't do that! It's **dangerous**!'" She said that last part mockingly.

"It'd be different if you could fight.." Ralph said, "Believe me, if you had gone along.." _Dragon's Lair specifically. I don't want__ to think about it._

"I know, I know.." Vannie said frustratedly, "It's still **annoying**." _Even if I __**could**__ fight you'd probably still not let me go with you when you 'ha__ve__ to__'__ do something dangerous._

"So you even like these hands?" Ralph asked jokingly, "They're really only made with one thing in mind, you know?" _Wrecking._

"You kidding?" Vannie asked with a smile, "They're amazing, it's like I could just melt right into them.. W-well you know what I mean." She laughed nervously. _I can't believe I said that. Couldn't I have said it better? Or something __**else **__entirely__? __But they look comfortable.._

Ralph laughed nervously and said, "It just feels like they're in the way most of the time." _I'm glad the monorail is so empty right now.._

"Don't be ridiculous," Vannie said, "You're just being paranoid."

The monorail eventually came to a stop.

Ralph cleared his throat. "Well, we're here.." he said as they slowly stood up and walked off the monorail into Game Station East, "I think we've got a healthy lead." He smiled at her.

"Want to parade me around on the way?" Vannie asked with a laugh, "Show those boys who's in charge?" _Maybe then they won't hit on me if we're not around each other __after that__._

"Well I think we should still hurry," Ralph said with a nervous laugh, "Vanellope can only hold off her race so long before her friends get mad." _I hope they're not all waiting at the track impatiently. I'm sure she explained what's up._

Vannie scoffed and said, "Okay, so why don't you carry me and run there?" _Like you did a while ago. That was fun._

"What are you a child?" Ralph said with a laugh. _There's too many people around._

"Aww, come on.." Vannie said teasingly. _I'm being unreasonable, I know.._

"You know I hate drawing attention," Ralph said. _I already get enough attention as it is. And I don't need everyone knowing I'm a wizard either. Don't tell anyone please._

"With me around you'll get attention whether you like it or not," Vannie said with a smile. _And he was doing so well.. __I guess I shouldn't push too much._

"Well yeah, but there's a difference in magnitude," Ralph said jokingly.

"Fine then, we're almost there anyways," Vannie said. _You get embarrassed even more easily than I do on this subject._

They finally made it to Sugar Rush. Felix and the others got there a few minutes later as well, just in time to watch Vanellope win.

"You're so **slow**, Ralph!" Vanellope said as she glitched over, "The others were getting impatient, you know. Especially Taffyta."

"I heard that!" little Taffyta yelled before saying something to little Rancis.

Vanellope looked over to her and little Rancis then laughed before looking back to Ralph. "So what kept you **this** time?" she asked, "Oh, hey your kingliness, didn't expect you out of your game. And I see Ash made it out of his game alright." _Almost didn't notice them._

"Hey kid," Ash said reservedly with a small wave, which was almost more like a salute. _I'm just going to be quiet for a while._

"It's my fault," King Candy said with a laugh, "I was just showing Ralph something, that's all." _You'd better tell her soon or we'll do it for you._

"And what might that be?" Vanellope asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well why don't we get something to eat first?" Ralph asked, "I'm a bit hungry." _If they weren't all crowded around.._

"You're **obviously** stalling," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes, "Fine, we can go see his **other** highness while we're at it. He goes straight home when the race is over." _He's probably waiting for Zombie to show up._

"So how has he been doing?" Ralph asked. _I imagine you must talk to him at least a little._

"He's been good," Vanellope said, "He's always in high spirits when Zombie's around. Turns out our games were released the same year, I don't know if I told you before."

"First I hear of it," Ralph said with a smile, "So.. How exactly are we going to get there?"

"I hadn't thought about that," Vanellope said with a laugh, "It'd be a stretch, but the three of **us** could all ride on my kart if you carry Vannie.." She smiled mischievously. _I think that'd be cute._

Ralph opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. _I __w__on't dignify that with a response._

"I've got my own kart," King Candy said with a laugh, "That still leaves three people."

"I **knew** I should've brought my cruiser," Calhoun said with a sigh. _Never leaving home without it again._

"After all this time I still haven't made a kart.." Felix said as he slapped his forehead, "So should we just walk?" _How hard could it be to drive a kart?_

"How about a foot race?" Ralph asked wryly. _Since you wanted to a while ago.._

"You'd win hands down," Vannie said knowingly. _So if it's just us it's fine, I see._

"I'm game," Vanellope said with a laugh. _Ralph will win._

"Alright, how about this.." King Candy said with a smile, "We'll give you guys a head start. I'll drive my kart, Ash can ride on the back of mine.. And Felix can drive Vanellope's kart with Tamora on the back of it.." _It can be done._

"You'd better win, Ralph," Vanellope said as she glitched onto his shoulders. _I don't think I'd keep up on foot._

"Alright," Ralph said with a laugh, "No hard feelings, right guys?" _I have something I'd like to try._

"Yeah yeah, let's get on with it," Calhoun said while rolling her eyes playfully. _Someone's enjoying __himself._

"You coming, Vannie?" Ralph asked, opening his arms, "You wanted to do this again, right?"

"What are they doing?" little Rancis asked Taffyta in a hushed tone. _Do they even realize we're still here?_

"No idea, shh.." little Taffyta whispered. _We'll know soon.._

Vannie climbed into Ralph's hand and hugged his neck for support then said, "You'd better not drop me." She laughed.

"So you did this before?" Vanellope asked with a laugh as she held on tightly, "I wish I'd seen that." _Seems like he's over his __irrational__ fear of hurting people, that's good._

"It was hilarious," Vannie said with a laugh, "Ready whenever you are, Ralph." _I doubt he'll make a habit of this. May as well make the most of it._

Ralph closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he crouched down slightly. _In theory, if I put my full strength into my legs, matched with my agility, I __**should**__ be able to go a__t least a__s fast as a kart, right? I can already do so with my hands to propel a kart while riding in it __so it's not that much of a stretch__.. _He exhaled and opened his eyes, then ran full speed towards the castle, the ground shaking with each step.

"Forget the head start!" King Candy said with a laugh, "Like he needs a handicap!" _Well his code certainly says he's agile.._ He drove off after them.

"What are you waiting for?" Calhoun asked. _Oh right.._

"I've never driven before," Felix said with a nervous laugh, "I guess you would turn it on like this?" He pressed a green button to the right of the steering wheel causing the kart to start up.

"So far so good," Calhoun said as she took his hat off and put it on her head, "Want me to give it a shot? I know how to drive a real car.." _A kart shouldn't be much different. The only problem is my legs._

"You sure your legs aren't too long?" Felix said with a laugh as he ran his hand down the armor on her leg, "The steering wheel may get in the way." _It'd be different if we had made our own karts.._

"Alright fine," Calhoun said with a laugh, "Let's see **you** manage.. You see that right pedal down there, press your foot down on that to accelerate. The one in the middle is for braking.." _This won't end well._

"S-slow down!" Felix said with a nervous laugh, "Okay so the right one accelerates, the middle is for braking.. What's the left one for?" _I've only got two feet.._

"It's the clutch pedal, you step on that only when switching gears," Calhoun said, "That's also what this joystick is for." _I'm not much for the stick shift, but I know how to handle it._

"This is quite complex.." Felix said, "Well we're not going to win anyways." He laughed. "May as well take our time." He eased down on the accelerator before accidentally slamming down on it. "Ohhh boy.." He quickly let go. "Maybe you should drive after all.." _I've got no confidence with this.._

"You tried," Calhoun said with a laugh, "Alright, out the way.." She got off the back of the kart and slid into the seat as he got on the back. She put her knees on either side of the steering wheel. "This is awkward.. Not a word of this to anyone." _I guess we'll have to make __our own __karts at some point. __This is way too small.._

"No worries," Felix said with a laugh, "I wouldn't dream of it." _My hammer for a picture of this.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** What is this? I don't even.. And yes, little Taffyta and Rancis are still there watching Felix and Calhoun.


	62. Chapter 62

"Well, there's two restaurants open here in town," Leon said, "There's Tony's, which has Italian food, and then there's Andre's which is French." _Either one is fine __with me__._

They all turned to Crumbelina.

"Well don't look at **me**," Crumbelina said with a laugh. _So what if I'm Italian? Mom and I don't even have accents._

"Just a joke," Taffyta said teasingly, "I think I'd like to try French cuisine for a change though." _So glad we don't have to keep talking about our backstories._

"Same," Rancis said with a smile, "We always have Italian." _It's no good eating the same thing every day._

"Then let's go to Andre's," Crumbelina said with a smile, "You agree, don't you Jet? You're being quiet." _He's thinking about something I guess._

"Oh, yeah!" Jet said with a smile as he snapped back to reality, "I haven't had French food in about 20 years or so." _Not since Food Fight._

"You doing okay there, Jet?" Taffyta asked with a laugh, "You seemed pretty out of it for a while there." _Not so much like he was thinking about anything depressing. Just a bit dazed. It was kind of cute.. No, don't think about that. Rancis is better anyways. Why am I doing this to myself?  
_

Jet scoffed and said, "Completely fine. I was just thinking about what Charley might be doing in Sugar Rush, that's all." _Since he's there_ _making friends, I have an idea about the one he might get along with best._

"You sure he'll be alright alone?" Rancis asked. _I guess it's not so unusual now that I think about it, little me and Taffyta came see us by themselves too._

"He'll be **fine**, trust me," Jet said, "I know he's gotten into trouble before, but that was mostly my fault. And he does know how to handle himself." _I think that's been established already. _"Besides, he's not going to be alone, he's going there to make friends, remember?" _Besides __**that**__ one I'm sure he's going meet their Crumbelina too. And of course their Taffyta, Rancis, Minty, and Jubileena.  
_

"You think he's going meet the younger versions of us?" Minty asked, "Well, except for Jet of course.." _Leon and Garret is a given too.. But we're talking about Sugar Rush racers._

"Well if anything I think Charley is kind of the younger version of me in a way," Jet said with a laugh, "Maybe a little more mischievous."

"Oh, I don't know," Taffyta said wryly, "I still remember you pulling a fast one on Felix your first day as a racer." _Tricking him into eating anchovies as I recall._

Jet laughed and said, "That was maybe a little mean of me.. But **y****ou** pulled a fast one on me around the same time. I didn't forget **that**." _Although I'm quite thankful for it._

"I told you I was sorry!" Taffyta said with a laugh, "If you two didn't look like such a cute couple I wouldn't have said anything." _Don't even deny you're glad I did it._

"Huh?" Minty asked excitedly, "What happened?" _Tell me!_

"She's the reason Crumbelina and I are dating, more or less," Jet said shyly. _She'd have asked me out eventually though._

"Not quite.." Crumbelina said, "I'd have still asked you out, just a while later.. I know **you** wouldn't have been the one to say anything, Mr. I'm-not-good-enough." _I'm glad he's over that._

"Well can you blame me?" Jet asked with a laugh, "After everything I had done, I didn't expect anyone would feel that way about me.." _This conversation is getting a little awkward._

"Well I'm glad you're over that," Taffyta said, "You two are cute together." _You're plenty good, Jet.. But Rancis is still better. Why'd King Candy make him so cute? Rancis is still better though. Think about something else Brain, I'm tired of thinking about this.  
_

"Aww," Minty said sweetly, "I agree with Taffyta. So when's the wedding?" _Maybe I shouldn't have said that._

Jubileena laughed. _She's got that stuck in her head now doesn't she?_

"W-woah.." Jet said nervously. _Did she seriously just go there? I don't know if I'm ready for that.._

"T-that's a bit far off," Crumbelina said with a nervous laugh while scratching the side of her neck. _I don't think __either one of us is__ ready for that yet.. We've barely met, even if we do sleep together already.. That's not such a bad thing is it?_

"Y-yeah.." Jet said, "Although that'd.. be nice.." _Don't laugh at me please? It's getting a bit hot out here.. Dare I look at her?_ He glanced over to Crumbelina.

Taffyta quickly pulled out a camera from somewhere and took a picture of Jet looking at Crumbelina. She smiled innocently. _Don't mind me._

"Did you seriously just do that?" Crumbelina asked hotly, "Hand it over." She gave an annoyed smile.

"No way!" Taffyta said as she ran off laughing wildly, putting the camera away, "I'll give you a copy later!" _I'm keeping it! You can't make me __hand it over__._

"Get back here!" Crumbelina said as she began chasing her. _At least let me decide if you can keep it. "_You're such a voyeur, Taffyta!"

"Come to think of it she took a picture of Leon and I too.." Minty said as she started chasing Taffyta as well. _I need to see what it looks like! Did she make copies yet? I'll have to make her delete it if it looks bad._

"I can live with that!" Taffyta said with a laugh as she evaded both of them to the best of her ability. _You'll never catch me._

"Soo.." Jet said, "That was awkward." _I didn't expect Taffyta to be a voyeur. I guess I should have seen that coming._

"You don't know the half of it," Rancis said with a laugh as he watched the three girls running around. _They're not going to catch her like that._

"She didn't take pictures of **us**, did she?" Jubileena asked. _We would have noticed, right?_

"I don't think so.." Garret said, "We would have noticed, right?" _Unless our backs were turned, which wouldn't make a good picture anyway.  
_

"No, it was just the one just now and the one she took of Minty and Leon yesterday that I can recall," Rancis said, "I apologize on her behalf.." _I suppose I should say at least that much._

"I'm not worried about it," Jet said, "I-I would like to see it though, just to make sure it didn't come out too badly." _So basically I am worried about it.._

* * *

"So to make a kart I have to play this minigame?" Charley asked. _Sort of a weird process to get a kart._

"That's right," Beard Papa said, "Just step on that large button in the middle of the floor there and then pick a design. You'll only have a minute once the game starts." _What game is he from, I wonder? He ain't from around here, that's for sure._

"A minute?!" Charley asked, "Really? Sounds rough." _I can't be too hard though in that case._

"Here's a little tip," Beard Papa said with a laugh, "When you're at the baking part, jump on the pump at a medium pace." _Vanellope just about has it mastered by now, as much energy as it takes..  
_

"Jump on it, hmm?" Charley said, "Well I'll give it a shot.." _I hope I don't have to do this every time I want a kart, getting here was difficult enough._ He ran up to the button and jumped on it, lighting up several kart designs. "Woah are you kidding me?! This one's perfect!" _Looks exactly like an ice cream cone. How could I __**not**__ pick this one?_ He made it almost flawlessly. _Well that wasn't so difficult actually._ "So why don't they make the pump lower to the ground? Since mostly kids are going to be making karts.."

"Don't ask me," Beard Papa said, "I just maintain the place." _Be glad you kids know how to balance on something so small in the first place. I'd throw my back out if I tried something like that._

"Alright, well thanks!" Charley said as he drove off.

"Right.." Beard Papa said, "Once again I get stuck with the mess." _At least I get to see those kids' faces light up._ He chuckled.

"It's a good thing I copied Jet's racing skills while we were merged.." Charley said to himself with a laugh as he drove around. _Awesome. Now to find those racers. Or maybe __I'll make a trip to the Ice Cream Mountains first. That place is awesome.. _He sighed. _I'm glad Jet changed my mind.. It's going to be awkward for a while though, that's for sure. No, racers first._

* * *

"Alright," Calhoun said, "you take it from here and keep quiet about me driving." _The thing is way too __cramped._ She got out and stretched as Felix carefully got into the seat again.

"I just don't want to crash," Felix said with a laugh, "I'm glad nobody saw us on the way here."

"Just remember what I told you," Calhoun said seriously, "You'll be fine." _You have to learn someday. I can't believe you don't know how to drive._ She got on the back again, holding on for dear life.

Felix puttered along the rest of the way, constantly stopping at the slightest bump.

"You're terrible," Calhoun said with a laugh. _Driving isn't one of this wizard's spells._

"Thanks," Felix said disappointedly as they finally got to the castle.

"What took you guys so long?" Ralph beamed as Felix and Calhoun made their way into the castle.

"Don't ask!" Felix said as he rolled his eyes, "I didn't know how to drive." _I still don't, not really.._

"Who's fault is that?" Ralph asked with a laugh, "Did you have to fix it along the way?"

"..Twice.." Felix said shyly. _I'd rather not talk about it._

"So did you win?" Calhoun asked wryly. _They'll never know.._

"Sure did," Vannie beamed, "King Candy gave a good fight, but he took a minute longer to get here."

"I **let** you win," King Candy said with a laugh, "Honest." _Least convincing lie I've ever told._

"Sure.." Vannie said dismissively. _As if._

"I'm a lot faster on my feet than I used to be," Ralph said with a laugh. _Now that I got this all worked out._

"So where's squirt?" Calhoun asked. _Figures he would win. __L__et's get off this subject._

She's in the dining room. _She wanted to talk to __this game's __King Candy for a while._

* * *

"You understand, right?" Vanellope asked, "It's nothing personal." _You're not gonna cry, are you?_

"Yes, yes," King Candy said with a sigh, "I knew this would happen eventually." _Like I can compete with Ralph._

"I expected you to take it harder.." Vanellope said. _I guess it doesn't bother him that much after all._

"Well it's not like you accepted it in the first place," King Candy said, "Even when we were first plugged in you didn't accept me as your father." _Doesn't change the fact that I still care about you as a father would._

"Why don't I remember that?" Vanellope asked raising an eyebrow.

"Turbo ripped every single connection you had to the game, you know?" King Candy said, "It's a wonder you remember anything after that." _The memories should certainly be there.._

"But I was reset," Vanellope said, "You'd think that-" _Oh, there it is._ "Nevermind." _Guess I have to try remembering stuff if I'm going to remember stuff._

"That's why.." King Candy said with a sigh, "As long as you're happy, it's fine. I know I'm too busy to be a proper father in the first place." _I'd be in the way more than anything._

"Well don't worry, okay?" Vanellope said as she gave him a hug, "You may not be my dad, but you're an okay guy, alright?" She let go and backed away a couple feet. "Friends?"

King Candy chuckled sadly, "Sure.." _That's the second hug she's ever given me.._

"You're not gonna cry, are you?" Vanellope asked, "You want me to get you some tissues?" _He does care.. Poor guy._

"Oh, I'm fine," King Candy said with a laugh, "You go on and get Ralph, I'll see how the food's doing." _I could always.. That wouldn't be such a bad idea.. would it? I'll have to study up first.._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Taffyta is just thinking again, nothing will come of it. I've said it in an Author's Note a while back, but I'll say it again. Rancis will **always** be way better in her eyes. I'll eventually get to why that is.

If you're curious about the kart that Charley makes, it's the second one from the left shown in the movie when Vanellope is choosing her kart design.

I figured Vanellope and King Candy would have to have that talk eventually. I didn't really find a good way of including this in the story itself, but since Vanellope was just barely 9 years old when her parents died, and she's 9 years old in the game. She wouldn't have had time to consider King Candy her father, adoptive or otherwise. If Turbo hadn't taken over Sugar Rush when he did, that would have eventually changed, just like how Vannie considers the King Candy of Sugar Rush 2 her father, just that she knows he's not her biological father.

Side note, that's also why Vannie stepped on King Candy's foot in 'A Sudden Surge', because he introduced himself as the rightful ruler, when technically **she** is. It's just that she was too young when her parents died, so she couldn't have handled that responsibility. Therefore it went to 'Candy Kane', who at the time was their advisor.


	63. Chapter 63

"So why do you two look almost identical?" Ash asked as they sat around the dining room table eating, "Everyone else in Sugar Rush 2 is so much taller than their Sugar Rush counterparts.." _You're almost the same height. It's weird._

"It's not **my** fault," King Candy said with a laugh, "I'm just naturally short." _He's obviously never been around people. Quite rude. __He'll learn._

"I'm glad I'm at least the same height as the kids in my game," King Candy(1) said with a laugh. _I'll have to pull him aside to ask how I can go about it.. It should be possible, right?_

"So what took you guys so long?" Vanellope asked Felix and Calhoun. _I hope you didn't get my kart dirty._

"Felix didn't know how to drive," Ralph said with a laugh.

"Oh yeah?" Felix asked in an immature tone, "Well I think Vanellope would like to hear what kept **you** so long."

"Ay yai yai.." Ralph said with a sigh as he covered his face with his hand. _Here we go again._

"Would you just **tell** me already?!" Vanellope asked impatiently, "If it's funny I'll just pick on you more if you don't hurry up." _You know I'll do it._

"What will you do, Ralph?" Calhoun asked wryly, "Or should I use your 'title' as well?"_ I'm r__eady__ to spill it myself. _A spoonful of mashed potatoes came flying into her face.

"Oops," Ralph said with a smile, "My hand slipped. I'm such a butterfingers." He snickered.

"Well played," the King Candys said in unison as they laughed.

"Bullroar, Wreck-It," Calhoun said with an annoyed smile as she flung some gravy-laden mashed potatoes his way. _I'm eating, you know? __But i__f that's how you want to play it..  
_

Vannie performed a sneak attack at Felix using a similar method, then pretended nothing happened. _It's a flawless plan. This is a useful excuse to surprise her isn't it, Ralph? That's what you're after, right?_

"Jaminy," Felix said as he wiped his face with a napkin, "Who threw that?" He flung some food towards Vanellope. "Had to be you!" He laughed.

"Hey, watch it!" Vanellope said with a laugh as she used her hands to throw some food back.

"Sour Bill will have a fit," King Candy(1) said with a laugh. He and his counterpart got slammed in the face with food twice back to back from multiple attackers.

"Food fight!" Ash said happily. _Someone is supposed to say it by this point. It might as well be me._

It lasted a short while, with the limited amount of food at the table at the time, but they had a blast.

"Well that was fun," Vanellope said with laugh, "Poor Spicy Jill though, her food got wasted.." _And I'm still a bit hungry._ She wiped some food off her cheek and licked her finger. _And now we're all filthy, __great. Guess I'll have to take a bath. It's either that or wait until the arcade opens again, and that ain't __happening._

Ralph nudged her shoulder with his finger and snapped with his other hand under the table. _Easy enough._ Everything within a two foot radius of Ralph was suddenly spotless.

"Well that's hardly fair," Felix said with a chuckle. _I had a feeling that's where this was __he__ading._

"Wha? So **that's** what you were hiding?" Vanellope asked with a surprised laugh, "Where'd you learn **that**?" _That kind of tickles._

"It's in my code," Ralph said with a smile as he shrugged. _Well I added it in myself, but still._

"He's a **wizard**," King Candy said with a laugh. _I at least got to say it._

"A wizard? Pffff!" Vanellope said, "What else can you do Mr. Wizard? And since when?" _Doesn't make sense at all._

"I can also wreck things really well?" Ralph said while rolling his eyes, "And since I looked at my code, that's when." _Though it wasn't there until I put it in. _"You don't like it?" He smiled.

"You kidding?" Vanellope asked excitedly, "This has potential!" _I'll have to think on it though. Besides never needing to bathe ever again, what could this be good for?_ "So you're seriously a wizard? Like, a **real wizard**?" _We'll have to get you some new spells somehow. I'm thinking ranged attacks, teleportation, hmm.. Well can he even learn new spells? Wizards can be taught spells right? If it's in his code what's stopping him? It'd be lame if he's so limited in what he can do..  
_

"Yes, a **real wizard**.." Ralph said with a sigh, "Also it turns out Felix and I are brothers. So that makes him a wizard too." _We're in this together, Felix._

Felix groaned. _Neither one of us will live this down.._

"But you're so **big**!" Vanellope said with a laugh, "Felix looks more like he'd fit in with **my** game." _Is your size part of your magic repertoire? _

"Hey, you going to clean up this mess or not, **wizard**?" Calhoun barked, "You're the cause after all." _Be happy we played along._

"I seem to recall a certain someone returning fire," Ralph said with a smirk, "But I suppose I really **am** the only one capable of doing this job quickly, aren't I? Want me to go get some castanets and flamenco dance around the room for you?" _As if __**that'd**__ happen._

"Yes, I'd like that," Calhoun said wryly. _The hell are castanets? __I'd pay to see him dance though._

"Too bad.." Ralph said as he scoffed and resigned himself to his new role, "Alright, gather 'round, anyone who's dirty. I'll provide this service free of charge once more." He sighed as his personal space was invaded to the highest degree he's ever known by this point. _I suppose I'll just have to get used to this. __I can't really say I didn't ask for it._

* * *

"Alright, so here's the town," Charley said to himself as he came to a stop, "The neighborhood should be this way.." _I wonder how I should approach them. I suppose I can just say hi and let it go from there. It's not like I haven't done the whole talking-to-people thing before._

Charley drove to the neighborhood and stopped in front of the first house he saw with kids. Little Minty Zaki, Snowanna, and Adorabeezle were talking in the driveway next to their parked karts. "Hey uh.. I don't suppose you could tell me where I can have some fun around here?" he asked from his kart, "I'm kind of new to this place.." _About the best way I can break the ice, I guess. I haven't done this in a while. I was kind of hoping Crumbelina's counterpart was here, or Taffyta's. __It would have been a little easier. __I can't complain though._

"Depends on what your definition of fun is," little Adorabeezle said with a smile, "I see you've already made a kart. Have you been around the tracks yet?"

"Well, not really," Charley said with a nervous smile, "I only just made this kart a little while ago. Oh, and my name is Charley Chuck, nice to meet you." _My definition of fun? Doing anything not boring? I don't know._

"I'm Adorabeezle Winterpop," little Adorabeezle said, "This is Minty Zaki, and this is Snowanna Rainbeau." _I'm not sure where Crumbelina is today.._

"Hi," little Minty Zaki said with a smirk.

"Hey," little Snowanna said with a smile.

"Well what do you say?" little Adorabeezle asked the other two girls, "Should we show him around?" _It's not like we were really doing anything._

"May as well," little Snowanna said with a smile. _We were just talking anyways._

"Sure," little Minty Zaki said with a smirk. _Since Crumbelina is off who knows where.._

* * *

"So since the place is on lockdown.." Jet said as Garret drove them to Andre's, "These restaurants must not get too many customers, right?" _I know, I know, my bad.._

"Well, people gotta eat somehow," Garret said, "It's true, it's not as crowded as you would expect, but there's still people wanting to relax and have an evening out." _Of course they all had to make up their own names, I'd imagine._

"They know by now the Cy-bugs don't come around here," Leon said, "We haven't had any since that time in our backstory. But let's **not** keep talking about it." _I get that you're trying to rationalize it, but it's an uncomfortable subject._

"Sorry.." Jet said, "I have a problem with speaking my mind a little too much." _Way too much. How it hasn't gotten me into real trouble yet is beyond me._

"It happens," Jubileena said. _You're not the only one._

They finally got to a stereotypical French restaurant and ate stereotypical French food while conversing about something that's been in the back of their minds since the Random Roster Race.

"So about Adrenaline Rush," Taffyta said as she placed her fork down, "We never did find out what it'll really be like, did we?"

"Not really," Rancis said, "Just that Vannie's mom was from there and that it used to be ruled by.. What was her name again?" _I can't remember it right now.._

"Her name was.." Crumbelina said, "Er.. It's on the tip of my tongue.." _What was it again? It wasn't that long ago.._

"Didn't it start with an L?" Leon asked, "Lemon or something like that?"

"Lemma!" Jubileena said, "Uh.. I forgot her last name though.." _I said that a little louder than I meant to._

"Either way the game can't come soon enough!" Minty said excitedly, "Just imagine all the food that must be growing all over the place!" _Candy is great, but you get sick of it after a while. But I'm thinking steak, fries, milkshakes.. It's gotta be divine!  
_

"That will take getting used to seeing," Leon said with a laugh, "I'm not sure why seeing all the candy in your game doesn't bother me any, it's still out in the open.. and growing." _I'm more than tempted to break a few flowers off the ground sometimes just to try it __though__. What's the worst that could happen?_

"The candy is fine," Garret said, "The chocolate was pretty good at least. The landscape regenerates after each quarter alert so it's no big deal if a few pieces go missing." _Had some just the other day._

"You've tried it?" Jubileena asked with a laugh, "Well I'm glad it suited your tastes." _Chocolate and cherries go well together.._

"So what should we do with the rest of the day?" Taffyta asked, "We haven't really planned much out beyond going to the beach." _Would be a little repetitive to go straight back again._

"We could always go check on Charley," Minty said happily, "See what kind of mischief he's getting into with the wee little racers.. No?" _I thought it was a good idea.._

"Sounds good to me," Jet said with a smile, "I've got a suggestion for him anyways." _He'd probably get along with Adorabeezle since her theme is rocket pops. Maybe Snowanna since she's snowcone themed._

"Suggestion?" Taffyta asked, "Like what?" _Are you **trying** to be cryptic?_

"Yeah.." Crumbelina said. _What kind of suggestion?_

"Well you know he likes ice cream," Jet said, "I was just thinking he'd get along with their Adorabeezle, that's all." _Snowanna doesn't like us apparently so I won't mention her._

"Good point," Crumbelina said. _I hadn't thought of that._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Charley happened to luck out, didn't he?

Leon and Garret have the excuse of not knowing because they heard Lemma's name secondhand on the way to the beach. I didn't outright write it, so don't feel bad when you don't remember that happening :p.


	64. Chapter 64

Jet and the others made their way inside Sugar Rush.

"There really needs to be a better way to get around without karts," Leon said with a laugh. _I can already foresee all the walking we're going to do._

"I agree," Jet said, "It's at least a lot more convenient in Sugar Rush 2 where you can just spawn your kart at a nearby garage as long as you've got one, and have the code for it." _I wonder.._ "You think maybe there's some unused karts at the Junk Yard? There would have been a lot of people making karts the other day while waiting for Sugar Rush 2 to get plugged in, right?" _Would they have all disappeared?_

"Wouldn't they have despawned?" Taffyta asked, "I don't really know how it works in this game.." _It's not like those other karts would be made by Sugar Rush characters, right?_

"I don't know either," Crumbelina said, "This is the first time I've been here, actually." _Though I did want to come here at some point to meet my younger self._

"Same," Taffyta and Rancis said simultaneously.

"I actually haven't been here either," Jet said with a laugh. _Not even since Turbo died. __I'm glad I don't have to deal with him. __Talk about a walking headache. Even before he 'went Turbo'._

"We walked when we came here before," Jubileena said. _Sure it takes longer, but it's not so bad unless __maybe __you're going all the way to the castle or something._ "It wasn't so bad. But we might as well go there to check anyway." '_I' might be there._

They walked to the Junk Yard where dozens of karts were piled on top of each other. Most were old and broken down, the wear of time apparent. But there were some lined up and simply missing parts like wheels or engines.

"Ah, it's you guys again," little Jubileena said with a smirk as she hopped out one of the lined up karts facing them. _It's nice to keep meeting 'myself' like this._

"Hey!" little Minty said excitedly as she ran up and hugged her older self. _They must have gone to the beach again, they're wearing those outfits._ "What brings you guys here?"

Little Crumbelina simply waved with a smile. _What should I say to __'__myself__'__?_

"Aww," Crumbelina said with a smile as she looked over her younger self, "I wanted to meet you at some point." _Would a hug be out of the question I wonder? __Probably. I don't want to embarrass her._

"I didn't expect our outfits to be so different," little Crumbelina said with a laugh as she walked closer. _Doesn't really look like racing outfits._

"Oh this?" Crumbelina said with a laugh, "We were at the beach earlier. Our racing outfits are somewhat similar to the ones in this game." _A few small differences here and there._

"O-ho!" little Jubileena said, "So **this** must be Jet then.." _Since the older me said he was dating older Crumbelina._

"So **he's** the one?" little Crumbelina said as she looked over Jet, "Hmm.." _He's cute, but I do __wonder what kind of trouble he's been into._

"You heard?" Crumbelina asked with a nervous smile, "He's a keeper, don't worry." _How else should I say it?_

"Well I'll take your word for it," little Crumbelina said with a smile, "But what kind of trouble has he been in? I didn't really hear any specifics about him." _It's not like I have a say in the matter anyway, right?_

"About that.." Jet said nervously, "Well.."

"Let's just say it was a pretty big deal," Garret said, "It's best not to get into specifics." _This game in particular has a bad history with that. __Don't stir the pot, Jet. Little Jubileena and Minty must have withheld some details..  
_

"Come on, how bad could he have been if he's still around?" little Crumbelina asked, "And he's dating my older self. Why shouldn't I know?" _How worried_ s_hould I be worried for 'myself'?_

"My intentions weren't bad.." Jet said nervously, "But.. I tried to do something similar to what Turbo did.." _I can't lie about this __or hide it__.. Especially not to her. __She may not be the girl I'm in love with, but she's still 'Crumbelina'._

"You **really** had to say it, didn't you?" Crumbelina said with a sigh. _What am I going to do with you?_

"You what?!" little Crumbelina asked angrily, "Hang on.. Wait.. Wh- why are you dating someone like that?! Do you have no idea what Turbo put this game through? He- he tried to erase Vanellope from the game, and she.. She was alone for 15 years!" _This is.. No, this isn't right. Why would I?.._

Jet sat on an old, crushed kart low to the ground. _I know.._ Little Crumbelina glared at him trying to rationalize it amidst the silence, breathing heavily through her nose.

Rancis sighed. _Maybe I should say something._ "Comparing him to that guy is a bit unfair.." he said softly. _Hm.._

"Rancis is right," Taffyta said softly as she walked to little Crumbelina and crouched down in front of her, "It's true that what he tried to do was wrong, but Jet is a good guy at heart, sweetie. If he weren't, do you really think that she would be dating him?" _Jet was just in a bad place.._

"How could he **possibly** be a good guy after that?" little Crumbelina asked, momentarily catching eyes with Taffyta before looking back over to Jet who hadn't moved. _A good guy wouldn't do something like that under any circumstances._

"There had better be a good explanation for that," little Jubileena said. _Trying to make good or not.. But I wonder if it was right of us to not tell her about it ourselves. Either way we can only act like we don't know now.  
_

"Y-yeah.." little Minty said while getting closer to little Jubileena and little Crumbelina. _He has a lot of friends so it must be true.. He doesn't __**seem**__ to have locked their memories away like Turbo did us.. And he's not hiding it. That's why I didn't say anything about it..  
_

"Would you like me to tell you everything?" Jet asked sincerely. _It helps to have everything in context._

Crumbelina sighed. _This story again? __I guess it's the only way._

"Well I think I deserve to know at **least** that much if you're dating **her**," little Crumbelina said coldly. _I couldn't possibly forgive someone like him. But knowing what happened is better than being left in the dark. __I'm worrying about you 'me'._

Jet sighed and told his story, long since having forgotten how many times he's told it by now. It's not like he was keeping count anyway.

Little Crumbelina sighed and rolled her eyes after hearing it all. "Are you really okay with this?" she asked her older counterpart, "You couldn't have found someone better?" _So he__'s__ the weak-willed, easily broken type. __Why would 'I' date someone like that?_

"You would understand if you got to know him.." Crumbelina said sadly. _I was hoping she would get it.. I guess we're different from each other._

"Trust us," Taffyta said, "He's a great guy." _How should I explain it?_

"I can understand your reluctance," Rancis said, "I really can. But Vanellope herself is okay with him. She practically even begged him not to die when he got attacked by someone two days ago. If **she** likes him, how bad can he be?" _Well, at least it was obvious she doesn't hate him._

"I just don't get it.." little Crumbelina said with a sigh, "Why him when you could have picked someone else who **hasn't** done all that?" _Aren't there male racers? Or even other guys __out in the arcade._

"I don't know how they are in this game," Taffyta said, "But would you have **really** preferred she go out with Gloyd or Swizzle?" _I shudder at the thought._

"Well they're not **that** bad," little Crumbelina said, "Gloyd may be an insufferable prankster, and Swizzle may be way overconfident, but at least they don't go around getting games unplugged and taking over people's lives. So what if he's sorry for what he's done? He still willingly did it."

"Um.." little Minty said nervously, "We were pretty mean to Vanellope too.." _For a long time._

"That's only because of Turbo," little Crumbelina said, "Vanellope told us herself that he changed our personalities to make us get along and make sure she didn't race. How do we know **he** didn't do the same to you guys?" _Although_ _I __do __wish we still all got along.._

"He wasn't able to get into Sugar Rush 2's code though," Leon said, "If he were able to then that argument would hold a little more water." _I'm glad __Set__ didn't __think to __change __**our**__ code __room's password__.._

"Well **I** don't know that.." little Crumbelina said, "Urgh. Fine though, he probably didn't do that. But still.." _It's not like I don't feel sorry for his circumstances, but he still did wrong. I'll talk to Vanellope about it sometime to be sure __she really forgave him__.. __If she did maybe she can help me make sense of this insanity._

"Can't you just trust me?" Crumbelina asked.

"If you can't trust yourself, who can you trust?" Taffyta asked. _Sorry we're all ganging up on you, but you're being stubborn. You're always so **stubborn**._

"Fine," little Crumbelina said, "But don't expect **me** to cut him any slack." _I'll be watching him like a hawk as long as he's around me. Or 'me'._

* * *

After cleaning everything up, Ralph and company ate some more, as the consensus was that they were still hungry, having used most of their food as ammunition. Spicy Jill was none the wiser, assuming that they were simply very hungry.

"How about we go to Tapper's?" Vanellope asked with a smile, "Ash hasn't been there yet, right?" _I suspect he's never had root beer before. His head'll explode, haha._

"That's the bar, right?" Ash asked. _Serves root beer instead of alcohol.. _He had heard about a few of the other games in the arcade from King Candy along the way to the castle.

"You'll love the it," Ralph said with a smile, "It's a great place to relax." _Helps get_ _your mind off of things._

"Oh, I would like to speak with you a moment," King Candy(1) said to his counterpart. _Before you wander off._

"Go on ahead without me," King Candy said with a laugh, "So what would you like to speak with me about?" The two walked out the dining room ahead of them.

"Must be some coding problem," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes. _I'd be a lot more reluctant to have him 'in charge' of that if it weren't for what he did for me and Vannie.. I think I'll have a look in there myself at some point. He'd better not argue either. Oh! I wonder if I can add spells for Ralph like that.. No, that's dangerous._ She laughed. _That's what_ _Ralph __would__ say.._

"You sure are pretty calm about letting him in there," Calhoun said with a wry smile. _After everything Turbo did while masquerading as him. Even if it wasn't really him doing all that. __You're pretty brave, kid, I like that._

"Well he's proved himself," Vanellope said with a smile and a shrug, "Besides, Ralph can **clean up the mess** if anything goes wrong." She laughed. _I'm just getting started._

Ralph groaned and said, "Can we **not** keep bringing that up?" _Okay, I get it, I'm a __cleaning __wizard._

"You should have spat it out the first time I asked," Vanellope said mischievously, "So you can expect **plenty** of janitorial jokes, washing witticisms, and sanitation shenanigans."

"Great," Ralph said, "I'd expect nothing less from a brat with dirty hair."

"If you really meant that my hair would've been 'cleaned'," Vanellope said with a smile, "Isn't that right, Mr. Bubbles?" _Nailed it._

Ralph sighed. _They probably don't even get that joke, Vanellope. Have they even met those characters yet?_

"So let's go!" Vanellope said excitedly, "I haven't had root beer in days." _It may not be super sweet, but it's bubbly, and it's good. Bubbly.. _She smiled. _Be prepared for your secret getting out, Ralph.. Nah, I probably shouldn't do that to him. Picking is one thing, but outright humiliating him in a crowd is out of the question._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I took longer than I expected to, writing this chapter. Mostly because of the bit with little Crumbelina.

Ralph isn't talking about you having not met 'those characters' yet, by the way :p. He's referring to Felix, Calhoun, and especially Ash.

Also, in case you're wondering, they never did get Taffyta to delete those pictures she took. Her camera is safely in 'hammer space', the same place they keep their coins for the races.


	65. Chapter 65

"It's okay.." Jet said sadly, "I don't expect you to cut me any slack. I want you to be as judging as you possibly can, someone has to do it." _I know I shouldn't feel so heartbroken. She's not even my Crumbelina. But I can't help but feel that way after having her of all people distrust me so intensely._

"Hmph. As long as we understand each other," little Crumbelina said coldly before looking back up at her counterpart, "I don't know what **your** story is, but I'll expect you to tell me later." _Why __**him**__? What could he have possibly done that warrants __'__me__'__.. you of all people going out with him? What kind of adult __do we__ turn into?_

Crumbelina sighed and dryly said, "Well apparently I hate myself now.. At least I'm in good company." She sat next to Jet on the broken down kart he was sitting on and draped her arm over the back of his neck. _If she's going to be mean to Jet, then I'll balance it out with affection._

"I do **not** hate you," little Crumbelina said dismissively, "I **do** however have to question your reasoning for dating Turbo 2.0." _Look at you showing off. What do you expect to accomplish with that?_

"You don't even know him," Taffyta said plainly as she sat on a broken down kart herself, "He nearly **died** trying to clean up one of the messes he made, knowing what he was getting into. Then you know what he did to the person who tried to kill him? He forgave the kid and took him in as a son. What kind of bad guy would do that?" _Even Charley isn't so bad once you get to know him._

"What? So he's making a family of killers now?" little Crumbelina asked, "You're not going to convince me with this. Far from it." _If anything I'd like to know who this kid is so I can make sure the other kids know to be careful around him._

Crumbelina sighed and said, "Let me handle this." She got up and picked little Crumbelina up off the ground and walked off with her under her arm. _Was I really this kind of spoiled brat?_ When she was confident they were out of earshot she set her down softly on a jawbreaker and sighed heavily. "You're making this way more difficult than it needs to be." She sat down on another jawbreaker nearby.

"Well since we're alone I'll let you explain yourself," little Crumbelina said, "There has to be a reason. A **really** good reason that you even talked to him in the first place knowing what he's done." _Because this just isn't adding up at all._

"I met him the morning after we got plugged in.." Crumbelina said with a sigh, "At first I didn't even know he was the guy, alright? I heard it was a grey-skinned man that was caught, so there was no way I would make the connection.. I had lost the Random Roster Race that day, just barely.." _Came in tenth._ "So I had to sit in the stands while the ones on the roster did their jobs."

"Uh huh," little Crumbelina said, "I'm listening." _So far it isn't so illogical._

"Well, he was sitting there next to me in the stands, watching the races. He seemed upset. He wasn't really paying attention to anything in particular," Crumbelina said, "I figured since we were both there I'd talk to him and maybe figure out what was bothering him."_I couldn't ignore it.. __Not like I would have wanted to__._

"So you felt sorry for him because he looked upset," little Crumbelina said, "But how does this go from that to dating him while knowing full well he got 4 games unplugged? Could have been 7 if the others hadn't lucked out." _After the first time he knew what was probably going to happen. He only cared __about himself and his brother, to hell with anyone else._

"Before I continue just let me correct you a little," Crumbelina said, "**He** did not get those games unplugged. True, he hijacked 7 people's lives over the course of the past 25 years, but you heard it yourself what he was going through. He never really wanted any of that to happen. The unpluggings were his brother's fault." _Jet could have lived somewhat happily in some other game if it weren't for Set. __I still hold to the belief that it was in their programming to do everything together. Set's desires were just stronger maybe._

"Yes, he's the weak-willed and easily broken type," little Crumbelina said, "It makes the fact of what he did a **little** easier to stomach, but it also makes him less attractive. Why would you date a guy who easily breaks down into tears and can't make important decisions on his own? Just continue with your story already so we can get it out of the way. You talked to him to find out what was bothering him. And then?" _If we keep going on about this we'll never get back to what I wanted to hear in the first place._

"He isn't weak-willed or easily broken," Crumbelina said confidently, "Not anymore at least." She let out a disappointed chuckle. "He said it straight out. He said he was forgiven for trying to take over Sugar Rush 2 and got made a racer by King Candy after the knowledge of how to take over games was erased from his memory.. Do you have any idea how much guts it takes to admit something like that? Especially when first meeting someone? He even told you straight out when were going to keep it secret for him.." She sighed. "Anyways, I talked with him for the rest of the arcade's open hours, it's not like I could go anywhere anyways since the players would think it's weird. I was freaked out at first of course, but after a while I realized he's actually a decent guy to be around." _I __thought I'd have a heart attack when he first told me __though__._

"Mhm.." little Crumbelina said. _I'm still waiting to be convinced._

"We mostly just talked about racing until the arcade closed," Crumbelina said, "Well, it was the subject we both knew. But that's not when I fell in love with him.."

"Can you skip ahead to when you did?" little Crumbelina asked, "Or is the inbetween important?"

"I was getting to that.." Crumbelina said with a sigh, "It's just the way that he talks, the way he doesn't hold anything back. I don't know about you, but I hate it when people say niceties even if they don't mean it. Not to mention have you even **seen** the male racers? Gloyd is a big nope, so is Swizzle." _Of course they don't talk to __me__ anyway, and I think they might be taken __anyways, considering how many girl racers there are__._ I haven't really even met the two new guys."

"It's starting to sound to me like you just jumped on the first guy you met." little Crumbelina said disappointedly._I think that's what scares me most __now__._

"You have to start from somewhere," Crumbelina said, "I wasn't really even **looking** for a boyfriend when I met Jet. We were just friends with a common interest and everyone else was too afraid to even talk to him." _Apparently I was the only one who didn't know what he looked like at the time._

"With good reason," little Crumbelina said.

"After our Random Roster Race I decided to bring him to mom's cafe for lunch since he didn't know his way around," Crumbelina said, "The thought did cross my mind that we might look like we're dating.. But the thought didn't really bother me. He was just being so considerate and honest to a fault, worrying about how people would look at me for even talking to him. It made me want to give him a chance.." _I wish I could explain this better. She doesn't need to know Taffyta egged us on too._

"So that's it then," little Crumbelina said, "Considerate and honest, huh.. I don't see how someone so considerate and honest can spend 25 years, a quarter century, taking over games and lives."

"You just need more exposure to him," Crumbelina said, "He made a **lot** of mistakes, but he's been trying to atone for it ever since his brother died. He's made peace with most of the people he hurt as far as we know, though they still don't fully trust him." She went on and on about it. "Garret and Leon are also from Hero's Duty and they're friends with him now.. Oh, and Candlehead prefers to be called Minty by the way. I don't know if I told you." _Am I forgetting anything?_

"Alright, alright, I **get it** already.." little Crumbelina said frustratedly, "You keep going **on** and **on**. It's all hunky dory for them I guess. But I need to see it **myself** that he's worthy of you or I'll never be satisfied." _What you're saying is all jumbled up. I can barely make it out._

"Be careful with that," Crumbelina said softly, "People will think you're some spoiled rich kid." _I remember Taffyta telling me that at some point._

"Ugh, Taffyta said the same thing," little Crumbelina said, "Why? Does the outfit really look **that** posh?" _I just thought it looked nice._

"Don't worry about the outfit, it's fine," Crumbelina said, "Just don't be like," she gestured at her with her hands, "**this**." _You're being very rude, you must realize. __I guess I was stubborn as a kid too. Am I more so now or less?_

"Fine.." little Crumbelina said with a sigh, "I can't do anything about it anyway, but I won't approve of him so easily." _Or maybe not at all._

"No one is telling you to approve of him instantly," Crumbelina said, "Just give him a chance to prove himself. He's a great guy. He even had King Candy cure Mom. I don't know if she's sick in this game, but she was dying in mine.."

"Mom is fine," little Crumbelina said, "I'll.. **consider** giving him an actual chance to prove himself. I just.. need time to think about all this.." _I just don't want you getting hurt. Can't you __see__ that? __I guess h__e must have some good in him at least if __he did that and since __they're all defending him so much. __It just seems so unlikely after hearing what he's spent most of his life doing.._

"Alright, now let's go back," Crumbelina said, "I don't suppose you want a hug after all that.."

"Nah, I'm good," little Crumbelina said, "I got enough of that from the 'Minty' of your game." _That'll get confusing, but if that's what Candlehead wants to be called.._

* * *

Vanellope busted into Tapper's ecstatically with Ralph and the others close behind.

"Hey squirt," Tapper said happily as he cleaned a mug with a rag, "Always a pleasure. So what can I getcha? 'Course there's only the one thing." _How many times have we had this exchange I wonder?_ He laughed to himself knowingly.

"We'll have some of that then," Vanellope said happily, "We have a new friend with us too. Never had root beer before, believe it or not."

"Well!" Tapper said while completely failing to mask his surprise, "We'll have to fix that then!"

"Groovy.." Ash said as he looked around. _I'm still not used to seeing all these types. Spicy Jill was interesting.. Sour Bill must be related to her or something. Or maybe they're married, I wouldn't know. Everything is so weird around here._

"Come on, our seats are this way," Ralph said with a smile as he led the way. _This area has always been mine. It's nice that I get to share it ever since I met Vanellope._

They sat down and Tapper flawlessly slid root beers in front of them.

"Drink up!" Vanellope said with palpable interest. _Chug chug chug, haha. Yeah right._

Felix chuckled. _I wonder if he's the type that gets giddy from it easily like me._ He gingerly sipped his root beer. _Nummy._

"Feels like I'm an experiment," Ash said wryly, "Bottoms up.." He shrugged and started guzzling it down, nearly choking on it from the surprise of the first gulp. _Guess I'd better slow it down. The stuff's definitely good though. __Burning my nose.._

"Careful. That takes practice," Ralph said with a laugh, "I wouldn't really call it a talent but I can drink a whole mug's worth in one swallow." _Years of practice._

"It's true!" Vanellope said excitedly, "You going to show it off?" She drank some of her root beer. _Mmm, bubbly.._

"Don't make a show out of it," Ralph pleaded, "I don't need any extra attention." _Especially not of the 'hey this guy's a wizard' variety._

"I wanna see," Vannie said teasingly, "It sounds impossible." _That's a lot to drink in one swallow. Wouldn't that hurt?_

Ralph gave Vannie an annoyed smile before lifting his mug and swallowing its contents in its entirety in one gulp. _Can you really doubt anything I say by this point?_

"Wow.." Vannie said, "You really can. It's almost like magic.." _See what I did there?_

"Now don't you start," Ralph said with a laugh. _Really, please don't._

"Geez, Wreck-It," Calhoun said with a laugh. _Still wondering what castanets are. This is going to bug me all day. And what's flamenco dancing? It's a dance, that much is obvious. Probably nothing to do with flamingos.. Though that would be hilarious._

"Ah, excuse me Calhoun.." Gary said, "I think you should probably see this.." _Sorry if I startled you._

"G- Don't sneak up on me," Calhoun said almost spilling her root beer, "What is it?" Gary handed her a newspaper he received from the paperboy. Calhoun's eyes widened as she saw the front page. _What can I do about this?!.._ She tossed it at Felix. _See for yourself._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Things are going to be a little rough for Calhoun, haha. She can dish it out, but can she take it?


	66. Chapter 66

"Oh my land.." Felix muttered disapprovingly as he eyed the photo on the front page and read the short article to himself. _News travels fast.._

[It turns out that everyone's favorite sergeant, Tamora Jean Calhoun-Fix-It has a hidden soft side. As can be seen in the above photo, she was teaching an inept Fix-It Felix Jr. (from the game Fix-It Felix Jr.) how to drive a kart in Sugar Rush while wearing his signature hat. Cont. on page B4.]

Felix gulped and flipped to page B4 frantically. _Tammy is going to kill me.._

[Felix, seemingly so incapable of handling the sweet ride (pun intended), allowed our lovely sergeant to awkwardly take the wheel. See bottom left photo. Details of this story are still emerging and will be covered in tomorrow's issue.]

"W-well.." Felix said nervously, "At least-" _The article is short. Why'd they even have to split it onto different pages? Well I guess so they could fit the other photo.. __I'd better not let her catch me clipping it out.._

"At least what?!" Calhoun asked in an annoyed tone while slamming her fist onto the table, which made Felix jump, "This ruins my entire reputation in one day." She glared at Gary. _Was it __**you**__?.. No, probably not if you've got the guts to show me this._

"It wasn't me!" Gary said defensively, "I was just given the newspaper, I swear! I just thought y-"

"Yes, yes," Calhoun said with a sigh, "I get it." She rested her head on her hands as her fingers slid through her hair, stopping halfway to the back of her head. _This just completely destroys the image I've tried so hard to maintain all these months.._

Felix grimaced, forcing himself not to comfort her, though his hand had made it halfway to her shoulder before he found the strength of will to pull it back. _I don't want to lose this arm.. She hates it when people try to comfort her in times like this. Well, I guess this is really the first time like __**this**__._

"So this is what took you two so long?" Vanellope asked with a laugh as she looked over the newspaper, "I give you credit for trying to teach Felix how to drive." She laughed again, unable to hold back._ This is just too good to be true._ She wiped a tear from under her eye. _Come on __Vanellope you gotta stop, there's a time and a place._

"It's not so bad, is it?" Ash asked, tapping the newspaper on the counter lightly as he spoke, "If **this** is who you really are.. Why not relax and enjoy it?" _Look! You were __clearly __enjoying yourself._

"You don't know anything," Calhoun said bitterly, not altering her pose in the slightest. _**How**__ am I going to handle this situation?! Cy-bugs I can deal with, no problem. Ralph, I can knock sense into him in a heartbeat. But __**this**__?! Who took these pictures? I told myself I'd never fail a spot check again. It still happened. If that photographer were a Cy-bug we'd all be __**dead**__._

"You had a fun time," Ralph said plainly, "What's to be ashamed of? Are there any pictures of me in here?" He flipped through the pages. "News about Adrenaline Rush. Nothing we don't know already." He flipped through a few more. He began unfolding the newspaper, separating the pages, and laying them on the counter. _This newspaper is never getting back into the same shape we got it in._ "Well now I'm kind of disappointed, actually." _Guess we're not newsworthy.. Though I guess we could have also __gotten away before whoever it was got their camera out._

"Wreck-It, just shut up.." Calhoun said with an exasperated sigh, still holding position. _What am I going to do with this bunch? I was supposed to be the sane one here._ "I'm going home. I need to think.." She slowly got up and walked out, giving cold stares all around to anyone who even so much as glanced her way.

Felix made sure not to lose sight of her. _She may __rake__ me over the coals for this, but I'm not leaving her to sulk alone. I'll just have to reattach my arms later._

"She'll.. be fine," Ralph said with a sigh, "Never would have thought, though." _She's programmed to handle __situations like this__. I can __**totally**__ understand not wanting to feel humiliated though._

"Mind if I have this seat?" Gary asked nervously. _Since I'm here, I may as well socialize.._

* * *

"So tell me, Charley," little Adorabeezle said with a smile as the four were climbing trees in the Candy Cane Forest, "What game are you from?" _I_ _might as well ask him about himself._

"Well, originally I'm from a game called Food Fight.." Charley said modestly, "But it's been unplugged for 20 years or so now." _It's been that long._

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Adorabeezle said nervously, grabbing onto a double stripe branch to steady herself by mistake. "Woah!" She almost fell, but caught herself by grabbing onto the thin section of tree's trunk. They were nearing the top. _I hope I didn't hurt his feelings by asking that.._

"It's fine," Charley said while shaking his head, "I've had time to get over it for the most part. Anyways, I live in Sugar Rush 2 with a racer named Jet now."

"What's he like?" little Minty Zaki asked as she hopped up a few branches, "There's no racer named Jet in this version of Sugar Rush." She held onto the thin trunk of the tree and looked slightly down to him. The branches they were standing on were nearly even. _For a newbie to this game he's light on his feet. __Even if he falls he'll be okay thanks to the taffy at the bottom. Of course I hope he __**doesn't**__ fall.._

"He's a pretty cool guy," Charley said, "You could say he's like an older brother to me, I guess. He isn't afraid to face a permanent game over if it means he can protect his friends. It sounds a little cliché, but that's basically him." _Unlike him though, I know not to bring up that we__'ve__ hijacked games __in the past__. You're supposed to say that **after** you've known them for a while so they can see what kind of person you are __first__._

"So he's been in that kind of situation before?" little Snowanna asked in a slightly doubtful tone. _You're not just trumping him up, are you?_

"Yeah," Charley said. _Calm down, __Charley__. __You can do this__._ "There was this guy who took over a game called Dragon's Lair and basically made it his home. Some people Jet knows were living there already and the guy reprogrammed them a little to make them be nice to him. Jet knew something was wrong and helped catch him." _Something like that._

"Wow," Adorabeezle said, "He sounds quite capable for a racer." _So __the guy__ was basically Turbo. Glad __to hear he got taken care of._

"Well King Candy helped out a lot from behind the scenes," Charley said, "He gave Jet an ability that's kind of like a mix between telekinesis and force fields. Not only that but he also had some friends with him." _I have to word this carefully._

"Who went with him?" little Minty Zaki asked. _Sounds like a few people were involved._

"Ralph, Felix, Calhoun.." Charley said, "There was a ninja named Gary." He laughed. "Um who else. Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi from the unplugged Star Wars game went along too. And two of the surge protectors." _I don't think there was anyone else.._

"Oh cool!" little Minty Zaki said, "So he knows Ralph!" _That alone gets you some points._

"That sounds like a lot of manpower for just one guy," little Snowanna said while raising an eyebrow in suspicion. _Are you sure you aren't pulling our legs?_

"The guy could throw water balloons filled with some kind of acid," Charley said with a modest chuckle, "I can't make this up. And he had full control of an **entire game** that was already unforgiving to skilled players." _I was only able to do it because Dirk showed me a hidden portal to the treasure room from around the entrance._

"So how'd he get taken out?" little Adorabeezle asked. _Sounds interesting!_

"Well, one of the surge protectors wasn't much help since he got lost. Or so I heard," Charley said, "It's a maze in there in a way. Sort of loops around a lot. The other surge protector kept one of Jet's reprogrammed friends from shooting at them while Jet distracted the guy by talking to him and keeping him in one place. That gave Ralph the time he needed to get to him and bring the guy out. I wish I could explain it better than that." _Because if I did you'd probably freak out and stop talking to me. __It's true though that Ralph brought me out, but he thought I was Jet when he did it._

"So why didn't Jet use his force field ability on him?" little Minty Zaki asked. _Sounds like he could have ended it himself with that._

"Jet said he still wasn't used to controlling it," Charley said, "The guy was able to get loose." _I only needed a few seconds of freedom to merge us together. However I did it. I still think it'd be useful to know how I did it in the first place. Not that I need or want to. But the situation might arise where I do need it somehow.. Well, probably not.  
_

"Well I think he sounds pretty cool," little Adorabeezle said with a smile, "And you explained it fine, I get what you meant."

Charley smiled and said, "Thanks.." _I handled that okay._ "I.. don't suppose you guys want some ice cream?" He laughed nervously. "It's one of the things I was programmed to do from back in my old game.. I know it's kind of weird.." _How I could __have __ma__d__e that not awkward is beyond me, but the wait __i__s getting to me a little._

"You mean like right **now**?" little Snowanna asked, "The Ice Cream Mountains are pretty far away.." _Programmed to eat ice cream?_

"Oh don't worry about that," Charley said, "King Candy of Sugar Rush 2 gave me the ability to make it myself, see?" He popped an ice cream into existence and held it up. "I don't really know how this works, it just does. It's kind of like his candy-making power." _I'm __**so**__ glad I can do this._

"That must really come in handy," little Adorabeezle said with a laugh, "I'll have one if you don't mind." _It might be a little unusual, but making ice cream whenever you want isn't a bad thing at all. I wonder if he can choose the flavor he makes?  
_

"Sure, why not?" little Minty Zaki said with a smile. _This will tide me over while waiting for dinner.._

"Well, it couldn't hurt," little Snowanna said with a happy shrug. _Since they're going for it.._

Charley happily handed them each an ice cream cone. _That went over well. I never thought I'd actually be giving ice cream away to people. _He sighed after licking the ice cream a few times and said, "You see.. The whole point of the game I originally came from was to get across a room to eat an ice cream cone, while four chefs chase after me. I would throw food at them, they would throw food at me.. After I ate the ice cream it would start another level.. It was more fun than it sounds." _I wish I could do it again.._

"Don't worry," little Adorabeezle said, "We won't make fun of it." _If it's what you're programmed to do, it's what you're programmed to do._

"So how did you meet Jet?" little Minty Zaki asked with a smile as she ate some of the ice cream given to her. _I'm sure there must be a story behind that too._

"I'd.. rather not talk about it," Charley said sheepishly, "It's an uncomfortable subject right now.."

"Oh, okay," little Minty Zaki said, "Don't force yourself." _I'm sure he'll tell us when he's ready._

* * *

"You do realize that what you're talking about is basically-," King Candy said, his words laced with warning.

"Of **course** I do," King Candy(1) said plainly as he cut him off, "That's why I'm asking an expert's advice."

King Candy sighed and said, "Of course it's **possible**. How good of an idea though, I can't really say. It's a bit.."

"I know, I know!" King Candy(1) said shakily, "But you understand, don't you? I want to do this.. But I want to do this **right**."

"And this will take several **weeks** to do right," King Candy warned, "If you're not willing to put in at **least** that much time I won't even hesitate to shut this idea down right now." _I have other things that I should be doing as well. __Though I admit, deep down this intrigues me.._

"I'm in it for the long haul," King Candy(1) said earnestly as he clenched a fist and pointed in the air with his other hand, "I've never been so serious about anything in all my life." _Few things come close._ "Please, help me.. If that's not enough, we can-"

"Alright already!" King Candy said as he stroked his forehead, "But not here.. We should do this in my game."

"That's fine," King Candy(1) said, "That works better for me as w-," There was a knock at the door. "Oh, that would be Zombie here to chat!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Be strong, Calhoun.. And Charley is a crafty one..


	67. Chapter 67 - Cuties

"So?" Taffyta asked hopefully as the two Crumbelinas returned to the group sitting in the Junk Yard, "How did it go?" _Will she ease up on the Jet hate?_

Little Crumbelina sighed and said, "I'm still not fond of the idea, but I'll allow it for now. At least until I get a better idea of who he is. _As if I can stop them anyways._

"So where do you think Charley is?" Crumbelina asked, "I'm guessing he hasn't come by here.."

"Is he the kid you were talking about?" little Minty asked, "He's not really a killer is he?" _Keep pretending you don't already know, Minty. He's going to open an ice cream shop and stuff, he wouldn't mess that up.. Let them explain it to her._

"He was just taking his anger out on me for what I'd done," Jet said, "It just extended to anyone helping me. As for what he did in Dragon's Lair, he didn't really cause **that** much trouble for the people living there. Sure what he did was wrong, but all he really did was made them his family without their consent because he didn't have one of his own anymore. He **is** still just a kid at heart. After he merged with me, we talked and came to the agreement that I would take care of him."

"So he did to you what you did to 7 other people," little Crumbelina said with her arms crossed, "That's somewhat poetic." _It's a big risk taking in someone who tried to kill you. I hope the other me will be alright.._ "He can't throw acid anymore can he?" _I just realized that that would be __**very**__ big concern._

"He's completely harmless now," Jet said confidently, "His acid throwing ability was replaced with an ability to make ice cream cones. They're safe to eat and everything.. Please don't give him a hard time about it. He just wants to be friends with you guys." _I hope he isn't getting into trouble._ "He deserves a normal life." _Much more than I do._

* * *

"Go ahead," Ralph said as he motioned to the stool Calhoun was previously seated on, "They're probably not coming back today." _I'm sure Felix will make her realize she's taking it too hard._

"Alright," Gary said as he sat down on the stool, "So how is our-" _Well, okay._ "friend Jet doing?" _He did kill someone yesterday after all. Even if it __**was**__ in self defense._

"He's doing good," Ralph said with a smile before whispering, "He didn't kill the kid by the way. The kid had merged with him." _Best not to catch any attention by mentioning kids and killing in the same sentence._

Gary stared for a moment in thought. _Charley merged with Jet? Well it __**was**__ an obvious trap. Why didn't I see __**that**__ coming?_

"Yeah, Ralph said knowingly, "But don't worry about it. It's been sorted."

"Sorted how?" Gary asked, "Did you happen to do the same thing as with Jet?"

"Well.." Ralph said, "It wasn't my decision, I wasn't even there. But King Candy erased Charley's game hacking know-how and Jet is taking care of him."

Gary sighed. _I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing._

"Look," Ralph said, "There's really nothing to worry about when King Candy is involved. The kid is going to open an ice cream shop and everything. He's not going to mess that up. What would you have done?"

"Probably the same thing, I guess.." Gary said reluctantly as he pulled off his mask to take a sip of root beer, "It's just forming a pattern, you know?" His hair was short, black, and messy. _Feels nice exposing the face every now and then._

"So what game are you from?" Ash asked. _Interesting costume._

"I'm from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," Gary said, "You?"

"Undead Apocalypse 3," Ash said, "The name's Ash. I'm guessing you're **not** one of the characters your game is named after."

"Well, no," Gary said with a laugh, "I think that's fairly obvious. I'm Gary, one of the many mooks in my game. Of course I'm more skilled than gameplay would suggest. I've had years more training since we were plugged in." _Many of which under Splinter's tutelage._

"I see," Ash said, "Well I won't avoid you for being a Bad Guy like some people." _Since that's a problem this arcade has._ "I get along with the zombies in my game just fine after all. And until yesterday the stormtroopers and Darth Vader were living in my game as well." _In case you're privy to that. You seem like you might be since you're friends with Ralph._

"You're a good person," Gary said, "It'd be nice if everyone gave us Bad Guys as much consideration." _Calhoun appears to be right about things looking up. I really should stop spying on the normals though. But it was Splinter's idea to do it during the meeting in the first place. I guess I should keep that to myself. Even if I did already tell Calhoun in a way.. I wonder how she's doing though, having her soft side exposed._

Vanellope waved over to Tapper to get some more root beers. _Ash and Gary are making friends. Good for them._

Vannie carefully folded the newspaper along the edges of the photos so she could even more carefully tear them out. _I wish I had a pair of scissors on me. If I lick the folds, would it make it easier?_

Ralph eyed Vannie happily without saying a word. _What are you doing?_

* * *

"Why'd you follow me home?" Calhoun asked in an annoyed tone as she walked into the bedroom of their East Niceland penthouse, "You know I can't think with people staring at me."

"Tammy, no one is staring at you," Felix insisted, "Who reads the newspaper anyways? If anything it portrays you in a positive light. You're everyone's favorite sergeant. I'm just the inept guy that can't drive." _Whoever wrote the article must not care for me too much._

"There's nothing positive about it!" Calhoun said bitterly, "I'm a **professional**, Felix. I can't show that kind of weakness in public." _It's reserved just for you __and the kids over in Sugar Rush on occasion__._ "I have to have an air of strength and dignity at **all** times or nobody will respect me or those I represent."

"There's nobody in this arcade who doesn't respect you," Felix insisted, "They **all** know you were instrumental in saving Sugar Rush, buying the citizens time to evacuate during the Cy-bug invasion." _Well, unless they live under rocks._ "So your secret is out. You can have fun just like the rest of us." _Don't kill me._

"That doesn't mean anything!" Calhoun yelled, "I don't want people to look at me and whisper things like 'Oh look, it's the woman who drove a tiny kart'. All that awaits me now is ridicule. My soldiers won't respect me after an incident like **this**!"

"Tammy," Felix said with a sigh as he closed his eyes and shook his head before raising his voice, "Would you get a hold of yourself already?! **No one** is going to ridicule you. And even if they would.. Do you think they won't fall in line at a single word from you? A single **glance**? You're a powerful woman, Tammy. And the most dignified I've ever seen. A few pictures won't change that. The people respect **you**. The people love **you**. Girls look up to **you** wishing they could grow up to be just like **you**. We **all** have a soft side. You might think something like driving a kart is undignified, but it's not. Even if it is too small for you. It's endearing. It shows that you can be just as casual as the rest of us if you want to be. If anything people will love you even **more** now.." He breathed deeply through his nose. "So relax! That's an **order**." He tensed up and closed his eyes. _Here it comes.._

Calhoun let out an inaudible sigh as she slowly walked up to him, stopping just a foot away. Felix could sense her closeness with each footstep and clenched his teeth just as she bent down to grab him by the front of his shirt to lift him up.

Felix didn't dare open his eyes. _She hasn't hit me since that day in the Nesquik Sand, but when she hits, it __**hurts**__. I knew what I was getting into when I said all that. Lay it on me.._

Calhoun stared at him for a while, replaying his words in his head over and over. She inhaled silently and said, "Fear is a four letter word, soldier." She let out a sigh and put him back on the floor then sat at the edge of their bed. "You talk about respect, but you actually thought I was going to hit you. Is that really how you see me?" _Do you think I'm so ruthless?_

"Those hits **hurt**, you know," Felix said as he fidgeted and sighed, "I'm sorry." He sat next to her on the bed's edge, head hung low. "I should have known better.." _She's right.. What is wrong with me?_

Calhoun rested her left hand on his head for the briefest of moments before squeezing softly, pulling off his hat in the process. She put it on without a word. The look on her face displayed the conflicting emotions she was feeling. Disappointment, relief, disbelief, happiness, sadness. Everything was all rolled into one big mess of thoughts and she couldn't make sense of it.

To Felix, this action suddenly made him feel as though a hundred pounds was lifted off his shoulders. He cautiously leaned into her side, hoping to somehow find the words to truly express the depth of his remorse for thinking she was going to hit him. _Of course she wasn't going to hit me.._

Calhoun wrapped her arm around his waist and in a soft, shaky voice said, "We all make mistakes too.." _It's my fault too, with how I reacted._

Felix's heart fluttered, but he knew better than to smile. He felt a lump in his throat as he could feel tears welling up inside him, not quite ready to flow. "You're right." He gulped. "We do.."

"Felix.." Calhoun said shakily as she tightened her arm around him slightly, "I love you.. Thank you for putting up with someone like me."_If not for you.._

"Don't be silly," Felix chuckled as a tear rolled down his cheek and he wrapped his arm around her waist, "You're the one putting up with me. Dad would have been so proud if he could have met you. Words can't express how much I love you, Tammy. No amount of pictures or anything could ever change that." _If not for you.._

"I know.." Calhoun said as tears gently rolled down her cheeks, "What am I going to do, Felix? What **should** I do?" _How can I make this work?_

"I can't really tell you that," Felix said sincerely, "Be yourself, I guess, whatever form that takes in the end.. If you want to goof off, goof off. If you want to be serious, be serious. Be flexible and follow your instincts, just as you always have. They're going to **love** you, Tammy. They already do.." _But not as much as I do._

"You say it like it's easy," Calhoun said softly, "That's harder than floor 99." She chuckled.

"Jaminy," Felix said with a chuckle, "Harder than Dragon's Lair?"

"At least twice as hard," Calhoun said warmly. _I suppose it couldn't hurt to at least give that a __**try**__. It can't be all bad.. _"Well.. Since we're here.." _You thinking what I'm thinking?_

Felix laughed. _I managed to calm her down somehow, thank goodness. _"We may as well."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Felix and Calhoun are just.. How do I explain it?


	68. Chapter 68

Calhoun sighed as she put her armor back on, "I needed that.. I'm still not so fond of the prospect of people seeing me that way, but I'm not going to do things by halves. If the secret's out, fine. I have something to do in my code room in that case." _Or maybe it would work here too, but I know my way around __**my**__ code room for certain. __Took a while to figure out how to sort the __files__ more easily._

"Wh- Hang on," Felix said worriedly as he finished getting dressed, "What do you mean by that?" _What are you going to do?_

"Relax, short stack," Calhoun said as she went to scratch her head, then realized she was still wearing his hat, "It's nothing dangerous. I know my way around the codes well enough by now thanks to that stupid 'Buggy' program the developers left behind. It's annoying as hell, but it helps get the job done." _If I didn't want help, I wouldn't ask for it, stupid help program._

"I don't think I'd be able to trust a buggy program.." Felix said cautiously.

"No.." Calhoun said with a knowing chuckle, "Its name is Buggy. Capital B, u g g y." _I can understand the confusion. It may very well be buggy though, considering it keeps asking me if I __want__ help._

"Oh," Felix said with a sheepish grin, "So what are you going to do then?" _What are you changing? I need to know._

"It's embarrassing, okay?" Calhoun said, "You'll see for yourself when I do it. It's self explanatory. Now let's go. You might as well come too." She put his hat back on his head. _Before I forget.._

They went to the code room of Hero's Duty. Calhoun could feel her whole body burn as she received a few awkward smiles along the way from passersby.

* * *

"So, Ralph," Ash said, "Have you made a kart for yourself yet?"

Ralph scoffed and said, "I think we both know the answer to that. I'd need something much larger than those factories are able to make." _Not to mention I don't know how to drive either. __Of course, I know which ones are the 'go' and 'stopper' pedals._

"We could get Dad to make you one," Vannie said with a laugh, "It'd be neat too if you could use some magic to make it pocket sized." _Put it in your inventory for when you go to other games? __Wait, d__oes he have an inventory?_

"Are you **trying** to bring more attention to that?" Ralph asked with an annoyed smile. _I can't get mad at her when she makes that face. Or any face for that matter._

"You were talking to Tamora about not getting so worked up about this sort of thing," Ash said wryly, "But you're pretty much the same, aren't you?" _You're one to talk._

"Let's **not** go down that road," Ralph said. _It's not __even__ paved with good intentions._

"Why not?" Ash asked even more wryly.

"Is me saying so not enough?" Ralph asked.

"Careful, Ash," Vanellope said mischievously, "Ralph could **mop the floor** with you if he wanted to."

"Yeah, he really has a way of **cleaning house**," Vannie said mischievously. _I want in on that too. Sorry, Ralph._

"You two.." Ralph said with a sigh. _Don't do this to me._

"One more, one more," Vanellope said with a smile.

"Vanellope.." Ralph said pleadingly and breathed through his nose. _I would appreciate it.._

"Alright, fine," Vanellope said with a laugh. _If it weren't so funny I wouldn't be so tempted._

"I'm missing something," Gary said. _I'm sensing wordplay, but in what context?_

"Don't worry about it," Ralph said.

"Oookay," Gary said, "So anyways, I was talking to the guys from Dragon's Lair earlier." _I wasn't going to go back at all, but since there was a portal to the treasure room __and I wanted to check on them.._

"Oh yeah?" Ralph asked, "About what?" _Well there's really only the one topic.._

"Just about what happened," Gary said, "They seemed a bit confused, but didn't care too much since no lasting harm was done in the end. Of course Grim is a bit disappointed he's still stuck in that same spot as always." _At least that's what Dirk told me._

"Sounds like me," Ash said, "This is only my second day out of my game."

"Really?" Gary said, "Well I'm glad you finally managed to get out." _I wonder how._

"So why don't you guys get King Candy to help him out like he did me?" Ash asked, "Since he enjoys doing that sort of thing."

"How much do they know about code rooms and the like?" Ralph asked. _It's a lot of power to wield. Not just anyone should be able to modify codes. King Candy is about the only one besides Calhoun and Felix I'd trust with that. Sorry, Vannie and Vanellope.. Well, I don't know, maybe Vannie wouldn't mess anything up, but Vanellope for sure would probably think about giving me __new __spells or something._

"Not much," Gary said, "They know what it's for, but that's about it." _I'd be hesitant to let them in, judging by their personalities. I wouldn't even trust myself in there, truth be thought._

"Isn't that game seriously deadly though?" Vannie asked, "You know, since **we** weren't allowed to come with you." _You can bet your tootsie roll I'm bitter about that._

"There's a safe shortcut to the treasure room not far from the entrance," Gary said, "Would have been useful to know that **ahead** of time." _It was pretty well hidden. Can't have the players noticing anything out of place._

"We can talk to him about it," Ralph said, "He'll probably agree to help, but I wouldn't get Grim's hopes up too high." _It'd be great if they don't end up wanting to mess with their code themselves._

* * *

"Yes, well, whatever," little Crumbelina said with a sigh, "Don't expect me to cut **him** any slack either. I won't hesitate to blow the whistle."

"Crumbelina.." little Minty said with a sigh as she suddenly hugged her, "Would you just shut up already?" _You're being way too stubborn. Let's try being friends with him first at least. How could that hurt? __Oh, and please don't get mat at me for telling you to shut up._

"Wh-?" little Crumbelina tried to speak but didn't know what to say.

"You're getting maybe a little bit out of hand," little Jubileena said, "We all get it. He's been a bad boy. If he's trying to be a good boy then shouldn't that be enough? If you act like that towards him he might not think it's worth it to be a good guy." _Well, I don't __**really**__ believe that last part. But.._

"I wouldn't say that," Jet said.

"It's **possible**," little Jubileena said hesitantly, "You've only known him a day so far since he's turned nice, right?.. Anyway I'll try being nice to him and see how that turns out. It's not like he **can** do any harm anyway, right? Since we're in our game and he's a weak kid just like the rest of us." _I'd rather be around as few people as possible, __but if he wants friends I'll give him a chance. We may not have been completely at fault, but Vanellope __did __forg__i__ve us without hesitation after all the mean stuff we did to her. It's only fair. __Especially if she's already done the same._

"He's a **bit** taller though," Jet said with a chuckle, "But he's not going to be causing any trouble. I'm certain of it." _No surprise since they _were_ programmed __in__ different art styles.._

* * *

"So which looks better?" Calhoun asked intently, "Don't you dare laugh either."

"I'm not laughing," Felix said with a grin, "I'm just.." He sighed a lovestruck sigh.

"I'm asking a question here," Calhoun said impatiently, "Which looks better?"

"They're both beautiful," Felix said with a giddy chuckle, "But if I had to choose, I suppose the first one you showed me."

"The first one, huh?" Calhoun said as she turned a tiny dial she added to her radio. Her outfit changed in an instant from her armor into a white button up shirt tucked into a pair of blue jeans with a black belt. She was also now wearing black boots. She put her radio away. Though it felt refreshing being out of her armor and in more comfortable clothes, she was already dreading walking out of her game. _I feel like I could game over about now.. Maybe I shouldn't go through with this after all._

"Don't even think it!" Felix said with a wide grin, "I love it!" _Jeepers.._ _I dreamed of seeing her in normal clothes __ever since our first day out._

"Quit listening to my thoughts so intently," Calhoun said wryly, "And you'd better be prepared for all the attention coming our way, pint size. This is **war**, and I plan to win. Even if I have to play by **their** rules." _It feels nice being out of that armor, but that's not what I'm worried about. I can still change back into my armor any time I want. __Maybe I should now.. No, I'd be backing down. Maybe I should add invisibility to this thing.._

"I missed us being in each other's heads like this," Felix said teasingly. _You're halfway there, Tammy. Just a little more attitude and you'll knock them dead._

"I'll kill them," Calhoun said with a smirk. _Just let me catch whoever is taking those pictures._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I've been wanting to put Calhoun into normal clothes for a while now. I hope you approve. If you have other nice outfit ideas for her, feel free to message me and I'll consider them.

About 'inventories'.. Yeah, since they're game characters of course some of them will have an inventory to store items in. Small items usually, but Calhoun can pack away her Multi-Mode Rifle, bombs, and her radio/sensor, among other things.

Taffyta clearly has a camera in both iterations of Sugar Rush. As you guessed by now, little Taffyta is the one who took pictures of Calhoun and Felix. Though she didn't write the article, it would be a new character at some point if I decide to make them important enough to focus on later.


	69. Chapter 69 - Their Project

Calhoun took a deep breath, hesitating to leave the gateway of Hero's Duty. _I can do this. I have to bait them somehow._

Felix grinned happily, admiring her new look. _Jeepers.. _S_he was dynamite before, but now she's gone nuclear. I should be careful I don't game over from excitement._ "The gateway won't go around us," he said teasingly.

"Don't force me," Calhoun barked playfully, "This will be the end of me." _You're enjoying this too much. What's with that grin?_

"You're overreacting," Felix said with a chuckle, "You will get more attention, but only because you have the added charm of not being in intimidating armor." _Just wait until Ralph and the others see her. I only hope they at least compliment the look before teasing her about it. She'll likely hit Ralph since he'll actually be asking for it and it won't actually hurt him that much._

"That looks great on you, Tammy!" little Taffyta said excitedly as she ran up to them, "I.. um. I saw the paper.." She chuckled nervously. _It's finally happening! I didn't expect this, but so much the better!_

Calhoun sighed and said, "Yeah, thanks.. So where's your little man?" _Yes, yes. I get it. It looks nice. I wouldn't have narrowed it down to this and the other one otherwise._

"Oh, he's around," little Taffyta said with a laugh, "Anyways, I just had to come talk to you, seeing you in that outfit. It really suits you." _Now move in for the hug. You ready over there Rancis?_ She jumped and gave Calhoun a big, clinging hug. "Please don't stop wearing it! I could even help you pick out other ones!" She beamed. "It'll be fun!" _How am I going to get Felix alone to talk to him though? He definitely has to be number 2. It's only fair._

"Er.. Well.." Calhoun said hesitantly as she hugged little Taffyta back. _I really only planned to do this until I caught whoever is taking pictures __of me__.._

"Sounds like you've got a fan," Felix beamed. _It's hard to imagine they used to dislike each other __so much__. _"But where **is** Rancis, anyway?" He scratched his head. "You two are normally inseparable. You didn't have a fight, did you?"

"Oh, please!" little Taffyta said with laugh, "He's just helping Gloyd with something right now. I didn't feel like waiting for him, so here I am." _Did he notice?_ "So what made you decide to stop wearing your armor, Tammy? Was it what's in the newspaper?" She smiled sheepishly. _It has to be the reason, right?_

Calhoun rolled her eyes and said, "Kind of.. I guess.." _You can go back on the floor, by the way._ She gently put little Taffyta down. _How many people are staring at me right now, I wonder? _She scanned the area and saw a few faces quickly turn away. _For crying out loud.. No cameras in sight though._

"Well **I** think it's nothing to worry about," little Taffyta said confidently, "I think it was cute."

"See?" Felix said happily as he gestured at little Taffyta, "It's **nothing** to worry about, just as I said."

"Knock it off, already," Calhoun said under her breath as she crossed her arms, "You already **got** what you want. If you keep pushing me I'll change back that much sooner."

"My mom owns a clothing store chain, you know?" little Taffyta beamed, "We could always see if there's anything you might like better.. You don't have to worry about sizing or anything either." _Of course Mom is nowhere to be __found__.._ _Don't think about it, Taffyta._ _Instead think of how cute her reaction to being sized would be._

"Look.." Calhoun said with a sigh as she ran her bare fingers through her hair. _Oh that feels way better._ "I'll.. **think** about it. But right now is definitely a no-go." _Don't do this to me.._

"I'll be waiting for that!" little Taffyta said happily. _That's a start. She can be so much prettier when she tries, even though she doesn't even have to try._

"Just.. Don't get your hopes up, alright?" Calhoun said with a twinge of guilt. _This is supposed to be temporary.._

"So.." Felix beamed, "Are we going back to Tapper's?" _I don't know if Ralph and the others would still be there or not though._

"You just want to embarrass me in front of Ralph, don't you?" Calhoun said with a knowing sigh. _Now I know what I was putting him through. At least I'm not a wizard though.._ "I don't even know **where** I was planning to go." _Baiting the photographer was my only thought._ "Let's just go home, I'm tired."

"Can I come visit for a while?" little Taffyta asked, "Rancis and Gloyd can wait." _I still need to ask Felix to be number 2. I'd rather not wait. These two are __**always**__ together, maybe I'll find my chance there.._

"You're not planning something, are you?" Calhoun asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. _You're not being __**too**__ out of the ordinary, at least as far as how you talk to __**me**__, but something feels off. What is it? And Rancis can wait? Since when?_

"Oh, now **that** hurts," little Taffyta said with an annoyed smile, "I just want to spend time with you since you haven't played with us in a while." _Which is partially true. Maybe I **am** rushing it a little, but I need to ask Felix before wasting too much time. The others will be lining up._ "And I can't even remember the last time I went to Felix's game."

"You can come along for a little while," Felix said with a chuckle, "She may not say it, but Tammy's happy to have the company."_ She __**is**__ being a little odd.. I can't quite place how._

The three went to Fix-It Felix Jr.

* * *

After chatting for a long while, Ralph, Vannie and Vanellope decided to head back to Sugar Rush 2 for the day.

Upon entering the castle, Ralph asked Sour Bill, "Where's his royal highness at the moment?" _Just to mess with the guy a bit._

Sour Bill grumbled then said, "He and the other King Candy are in the code room again." _ Code room this, code room that. He never tells __**me**__ what he's doing in there.._

"What do you suppose they're doing together?" Vanellope asked curiously, "I think we should go see." _I wonder if it has any connection to what King Candy wanted to talk to his counterpart about.._

"Well we were going talk to him anyways," Ralph said, "Thanks SB."

"Mhmm.." Sour Bill said with a displeased sigh. _SB.. How hard is it to say Sour Bill? Or just __**Bill**__ for that matter._

Ralph, Vannie and Vanellope made their way towards the code room.

* * *

"I'm telling you that would be too much," King Candy said in an annoyed tone, "You have to find the right balance."

"What's wrong with this?" King Candy(1) asked in an annoyed tone, "Don't we want this done right?"

"Hey Dads!" Vannie said cheerfully as they quietly floated up behind them in the dark anti-gravity of the code room, "What are we missing out on in here?"

The King Candy duo quickly shut the file they were working on. They could feel their hearts drop, as if they were caught doing something wrong.

King Candy(1) laughed nervously. _I'm not doing anything wrong, why do I suddenly feel __as though I am__?_

"It's.. embarrassing," King Candy said with a sigh. _More so for him._

"Promise me you won't laugh.." King Candy(1) said pleadingly. _We would have been found out sooner or later. But __**this**__ soon?_

"Laugh at what?" Vanellope asked with an innocent smile as she leaned forward over Ralph's shoulder, her head rested on her hands. _Are you doing something bad?_

"We're.." King Candy(1) said with a sigh, "We're creating a racer." He scratched the back of his hand nervously.

"You mean you're creating a person.." Ralph said in disbelief, "What? From **scratch**?" _I guess it only makes sense that you can do that. We're only code. But __**really**__?.._

"It's.. It's the only thing I could come up with," King Candy(1) said sadly, "It pains me to admit, but it's cut me deeply, being replaced.." _I knew better than to expect her to accept me, given our history, but all the same.._

"So you decided to do the same to me," Vanellope said, "I see.." _I know you must be sad, old man. I'm sorry. But __**this**__? _She looked at an iconless code box floating there with no connections. All that was present on it was the name Candice Kane. _What are you __**thinking**__ exactly?_

"No!" King Candy(1) said insistently before sighing and returning to his somber tone, "Nothing can replace you, Vanellope.. But I was programmed to be a father, as much as a racer. I **need** this.." He turned to face the code box, "I need **her**." _Since you have Ralph, this is the only alternative I can think __of._

"It's **that **again.." Ralph said solemnly, mostly to himself, as he knowingly clenched his fists briefly. _It was the same way with __Vanellope when I first met her. And then __Jet. And Charley as well.. How many people have been hurt because they couldn't follow their programming?_

"If.. If you would," King Candy said, his eyes full of conflicting emotions, "Could you help us?.. It would be best if she had friends growing up, after all.."

Vanellope stared at the code box in thought. _I did something horrible, didn't I? I didn't even think about the possibility it was in his code.. I don't want to think about what he must be going through, but I think I have an idea.. I spent 15 years unable to race. No one should have to feel that way.. Would this be so wrong? If it makes him happy.. And if he can make __**her**__ happy.. Who am I to deny him this?_ "I-I'll help.." she choked out, barely above a whisper. _It'll get better, Candy._

Vannie softly let out a sigh of relief. _I was worried what her answer might be.. This will be like me having a sister, right? Of course, we don't know each other yet, but that's what this is about, right? This is what __he means by__ 'helping them', right?_ "Me too," she said clearly. _I just hope this works out.._

"This seems a little sketchy," Ralph said nervously, "But if you're **sure** you know what you're doing.." _They've made up their minds already, so I might as well help in any way I can to make sure she'll be happy.. But this is basically playing Developer.._

"Thank you.." King Candy(1) said earnestly, "You won't regret this, I promise.." _You're in good hands, Candice.. Just wait a few weeks, okay?_

"So what have you done so far?" Vanellope asked. Her voice was laced with both apprehension and hope. _You can't have really done much in such a short period of time.._

"We came up with her name," King Candy said seriously, "But we couldn't decide what kind of girl she will be. He wants her to have all sorts of exaggerated traits, which is completely unacceptable. I don't think she would appreciate standing out so much."

"Well.. Open her code," Ralph said softly, "We can decide once we see what **has** been decided." _I've at least experienced code modification before, so I know more or less what to expect and how to go about it. Of course with these hands of mine it's best if someone else does the coding.._ He turned to look at Vanellope. _What's going through your head, kid?_

Vanellope glanced over to Ralph and then returned her gaze to Candice's code box. _I'll never be able to get over this feeling.. We're actually making a person.. A backstory and everything._ She breathed shakily. _I don't know if I'm ready for something like this.. I __realize now I __was foolish to even consider modifying Ralph's code __earlier, __now that I'm here.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, I just went there. By the way, King Candy(1) is the one from Sugar Rush. King Candy (without a number) is the one from Sugar Rush 2.

If you're wondering what Ash and Gary are doing, they're just talking at Tapper's. Not really anything special going on there.


	70. Chapter 70

Jet and his group decided to look for Charley around the various places he might be. They checked the neighborhood, they checked the Ice Cream Mountains, they even checked the Candy Cane Forest. However they were too late to find him in any of those places.

"He could be anywhere, you know," little Jubileena said. _He could have even left._

Leon scratched his head and asked, "If he was having someone show him around, where else would be high on the list?" _You must have some idea._

"Anywhere," little Jubileena said. _Even here he could be anywhere._

* * *

"So this is Sugar Rush 2," little Adorabeezle said with a smile, "It looks better than our game.." _Since it's new. It only makes sense._

"Your game looks plenty good too though," Charley said, "Especially for being 15 years old. It's aged a lot better than most."

"So where should we go first then?" little Minty Zaki asked, "Since **you're** the one showing **us** around now."

"I just thought you guys might like to meet yourselves," Charley said sheepishly, "Of course it's possible you already have. I hadn't thought about that." _But I should have._

"We don't leave our game much," little Snowanna admitted, "We never really had a reason to." _Though it would be interesting to see how I fared._

"I used to be the same way," Charley said, "But that was a long time ago.. Anyways, other games can be really fun." He reached up to enter the code for Jet's kart at the garage near the entrance. "Well, this one's mostly the same as yours though."

"This is new," little Adorabeezle said with a smirk, "So this is Jet's kart, hmm?" _It looks interesting._

"I'm not really sure where you three would be though.." Charley said with a sheepish laugh, "A lot can happen in 10 years. And then adding in the 15 your game was plugged in."

"Let's just start with my house," little Adorabeezle said, "It might still be in the same place." _That's where we were when you showed up._

"Alright," Charley said with a smile as he jumped in and pressed a small button on the dashboard which raised up the pedals, "Hop in." _I'm glad we have something like this._

They went off to the neighborhood and found Adorabeezle's home. Since it was her home in a way, she knocked on the door. _Feels a little weird._

The door was slowly opened by a stunned Adorabeezle. "Oh, hey there," she said with a nervous laugh, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. Come on in." She opened the door wider as the four came inside." _Now isn't the best time._

"Well if it isn't the three of us from the original Sugar Rush!" Minty Zaki said, "What brings you three here? Him?" _He's Jet's kid._

* * *

"So you've taught her how to walk and talk," Ralph said, "Basic parenting stuff." _How in-depth are they going? I suppose it's better than not having any memories of it._

"Well you have to start somewhere," King Candy said, "We want to establish that she has a past. That she was alive, and happy. Otherwise, what's the difference between us and those oblivious developers?"

"Hey!" Vanellope said in an annoyed tone, "It's not their fault." _They just don't realize what they do to us. No need to be so bitter about it._

"You're right, of course," King Candy said with a sigh, "It's just so many things can and do make our lives difficult or practically a living hell depending on the circumstances." _Being a glitch, or otherwise trapped in your game, being terminally ill constantly, losing your game and slowly losing yourself to corrupted code.. _"Since we're doing this, we have an obligation to make her as happy as possible, while maintaining balance so that people won't find her too perfect or somehow insufferable." _I think the humans would use the term Mary Sue.__  
_

"How many memories will we be doing?" Vannie asked, "I mean, this is all stuff we're deciding **for **her. Won't that make her that much more artificial?" _We're basically choosing for her who she is._

"When the alternative is being **empty**," King Candy(1) said solemnly, "there's really **no** alternative. Besides, the humans decided all sorts of things for us. It's still who we are. Even if we're not fully satisfied with that." _It would have been a simple matter to erase the fatherly code from my coding, but that would be too sad. We can be far happier like this. I'm sure she will agree when she wakes up.__  
_

"He's right," Ralph said softly, "Whether I like it or not, I'm a wizard. That doesn't mean it's the end if the world. We should just focus on the kind of life we normally have and make her fit in with that. She'll adjust more easily that way."

"I think she deserves to know we're doing this too," Vanellope said sincerely, "For one thing, she'll find out anyways. And secondly it's nothing to be ashamed of." _I don't want her to feel as though we betrayed her or anything. That would be the worst._

"Well let's go ahead and work on things she would remember well, like starting from around 5 or 6 years old and work our way up from there," Ralph said, "And don't skimp on details, we want her to have a not-so-vague memory of it, right?"

"Hang on, I just realized," Vanellope said, "What if she remembers stuff and talks to us about it, but we don't? Won't that be embarrassing for all of us?" _I know how it feels to have no one remember me.. It happened more than a few times with the racers._

"I plan to add the memories involving me to myself as well.." King Candy(1) said nervously, "I hope that doesn't sound like a bad thing to you." _I don't see why it should, but all the same, it might._

"Normally I would be strongly opposed to that sort of thing," King Candy said sincerely, "But in this case I believe that is for the best. We want her to be as comfortable around us as possible. We're going to be her family after all."

"I wouldn't mind, I guess," Vanellope said reluctantly, "Only because of these circumstances though." _If it was taking something away that made me who I am I would feel otherwise. I'd better have a say in how I interacted with her though._

"I think that before we worry about memories.." Ralph said softly, "Why not first focus on things like how she feels about Bad Guys and the like? I'm sure you wouldn't raise her to discriminate against us. Zombie especially would feel bad about that." _Since he's King Candy's friend and visits constantly now._

"Good point," King Candy said as he began typing, "King Candy of Sugar Rush raised her to not only treat Bad Guys, also referred to as Villains, with respect, but to also not be afraid of such types, zombies especially. She finds zombies to be fascinating in a good way as a result." He stopped typing. "Something like that?" _Chronological order doesn't matter so much when coding, thankfully._

Ralph smiled warmly and said, "zombie will be happy with that." _I'm glad he's been making more friends lately._

"We can work those things out later as we come up with them," King Candy(1) said, "But about her memories.. We can add stuff like that in that way anyways, can't we?" _I would like to give her some life experience sooner rather than later._

* * *

Little Taffyta looked around the dark world of Fix-It Felix Jr. with a bright smile on her face. _It's been a while. Sorry Rancis, but this is a one player mission._

"So do you still live in room 403?" little Taffyta asked innocently.

Felix chuckled and said, "No, Tammy and I live in the penthouse of the new East Niceland building. _I should build a few more so we don't disturb the others as much._

Little Taffyta beamed and asked, "Can you show it to me?" _I haven't this fun like this in a while. Stay focused Taffyta, this is a mission, not a field trip._

Calhoun sighed as they led the way. _Surely the photographer wouldn't come all the way here. At least that's one comfort._

Upon going inside Calhoun decided to excuse herself so that she could check her outfit to make sure nothing was messed up. _Last thing I need is anything out of place on this outfit. I don't see any holes or anything. That'd be a disaster._

"Finally," little Taffyta whispered once she was confident Calhoun was out of earshot. She pulled out a paper and pen from her inventory and handed it to Felix. "Sign here, member number 2." _All of this wouldn't be possible without you._

"Oh," Felix said with a smile, his words trailed off into a brief chuckle, "Gosh, Taffyta, is that what all this is about?" He happily signed the form and quickly handed it back to her." _It's our secret.. Kind of. Calhoun can't know I'm in it.  
_

Little Taffyta put the form away and smiled happily then whispered, "Welcome to the club." _The Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun_ _fanclub. Mission Complete. Fun Mode: Activated. There goes my imagination again. _She giggled.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter was written entirely on my iPod since at the time my computer's power supply had gone out. So if there are any spelling errors and the like, please leave me a pm and I will fix them. The last thing I need are words messed up because of stupid auto-correct.


	71. Chapter 71 - Candice's Christmas Memory

King Candy sighed and said, "Just stop me if anything seems out of place." He began to type into Candice's code once more. _I imagine it will happen a lot._

* * *

It was Christmas morning. Candice was 5 years old at the time. Despite the harsh winter air outside, the atmosphere in the castle was warm, and the smell of the fireplace burning and cinnamon buns hung in the air.

[Does the castle have a fireplace?]

[It will now. Get on that, Candy.]

"Hey Vanellope," Candice said, her eyes full of joy, "You want to go outside and make a snowman?"

[Of course I would, but I don't recall it ever snowing. Wouldn't it be some sort of candy as well?]

[Coconut flake snow then. Add that to the list. It can be a Christmas event or something.]

"Yeah!" Vanellope said excitedly as she glitched to the door ahead of Candice to beat her outside.

[You would totally do that, Vanellope.]

[No arguments there.]

"That's cheating!" Candice said with a laugh as she quickly joined her sister outside after they bundled themselves up in thick winter coats and mittens.

[Instead of just a snowman, make him a snow-Ralph.]

[I don't know if there's enough coconut snow for that.]

[Come on, you two.]

[Calm down, Ralph, haha. It's a joke.]

"Let's make him look like Ralph!" Vanellope said with a mischievous grin, "He won't know what to say." She laughed as she imagined his reaction.

[Wait, is this before or after opening presents? Before, right?]

[Before. Are you done adding the fireplace?]

[Well I want input too, you know? Uhuhu..]

[Presents would come a little later when Ralph, Felix, Calhoun, Vannie, Zombie, and I show up.]

[We'll need to ask them to join us tomorrow and until Candice is ready.]

[Yes, that's a great idea. I just hope they're willing to help.]

[They will be, don't worry. Felix especially will be more than happy to join in.]

[What is more than happy anyway?]

[Just keep typing.]

"Oh, he'll love that!" Candice said, giggling at the thought.

They built a remarkable coconut snowman copy of Wreck-It Ralph of the game Fix-It Felix Jr.

[Is saying our full name and game necessary?]

[Only the first time. We want as little confusion as possible.]

"I love it," Vanellope said, admiring her and Candice's handiwork. They finished just in time, as he was fast approaching with Fix-It Felix Jr. of the game Fix-It Felix Jr. and his wife Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun of the game Hero's Duty.

"Hey kids," Ralph said with a smirk, "I see someone's been busy."

[Don't forget Felix says 'jiminy', 'jaminy', and 'jeepers' occasionally.]

[That always makes me smile.]

"Jaminy," Felix said with a cheerful grin, "I'm seeing doubles." He gestured happily with his hands.

"Ralph!" Vanellope said excitedly as she glitched onto his shoulder and hugged his head.

[You know me well.]

[Well enough, I suppose, ahaha.]

"Hey Ralph!" Candice beamed as she ran to give him and the others hugs.

[Our ages will be a little confusing for her, won't they?]

[Don't worry, I'll explain it to her in her code. She'll know how she was made, after all.]

[So this will be before I get Ralph to be my dad?]

[Well I was thinking we rushed over after the arcade closed.]

[Oh, that's good then.]

"Where's Vannie?" Candice asked, "It's not often you two are apart." She snickered.

"She said it would be a while," Ralph said, "She and the other King Candy are bringing presents." He scratched the side of his neck in mild embarrassment.

[That's you, Ralph! Haha.]

[Yeah, yeah.]

"So what did you get us?" Vanellope asked with a smirk.

"You'll find out after dinner," Calhoun said sternly, "Gotta follow procedure, soldiers!" She smiled.

After a few minutes of playful teasing and chatting, Zombie from The House of the Dead arrived. Vanellope Von Schweetz of Sugar Rush 2, commonly referred to by her nickname Vannie, and her father, King Candy of Sugar Rush 2 arrived soon after.

"Looking sharp, Zombie!" Candice said excitedly a she ran up to hug him.

[Aww, that's so sweet of her.]

[Zombie will just love her.]

[Think we should ask his involvement as well?]

[Of course, uhuhu! I'm done with the fireplace now, by the way.]

[Get started on coconut snow then.]

[I want a turn soon. She'll be my daughter, after all.]

[Soon. I want to finish this memory.]

"Zombie happy to see Candice," Zombie said with a laugh as he hugged Candice, "It good to see everyone doing well."

[I'd hug him too.. He's a good guy.]

Vanellope gave him a welcoming hug as well after jumping down from Ralph's shoulder.

[Put that I said, 'Hey Zombie, it's good to have you around'. It's a thing I tell him a lot.]

"Hey Zombie," Ralph said with a warm smile, "It's good to have you around."

[And he would say, "Zombie just here for moral support'. It's just a thing between us.]

Zombie smiled and said, "Zombie just here for moral support."

They went inside the castle and had a delicious dinner, which was prepared by Spicy Jill, and gathered around the fireplace where a beautiful, small candy tree with Christmas decorations on it and several presents under it was placed.

"Alright, everyone," King Candy of Sugar Rush, Candice's father, said with a boisterous laugh, "We will now begin handing out presents. Please wait until they are all handed out and I give the word before opening them."

Candice began slowly tearing at the seams of her first present's wrapping, hoping not to be noticed.

[Well she was 5, after all, ahaha. You can't expect a 5 year old to follow every rule.]

"Now, now," King Candy of Sugar Rush said with a laugh, "Just a moment longer, Candice."

Candice groaned playfully at the fact that she was caught in the act, thinking she was being quite stealthy.

[I don't know what you would give her, but I'm sure Calhoun would give her something like a toy gun that is highly realistic-looking.]

[Felix would get her some kind of small kart model he fashioned himself. I would imagine. He can change it later if he thinks otherwise.

[And you, Ralph?]

[I don't know.. I've never really given gifts before..]

[Well don't worry, here, you can get her a.. Hmm..]

[See?]

[Well why don't we modify your strength ability somewhat into breaking objects into whatever shape you want it to be in and make her something she would like..]

[Yeah! Ralph needs more spells!]

[I knew it..]

[Relax, Ralphie. Just parlor tricks.]

[Gee, thanks. You do realize I wreck things..]

[Just go with it.]

[Fine, so I make her a.. I still don't know.]

[You're hopeless, Ralph, haha. Just make her a statue or something. Oh! How about this.. Make her a somewhat 3d etching of all of us out of a candy tree.]

[Does that really sound like something I could **ever** do?]

[It does now, wizard, ahaha! Get on it, Candy!]

[Ay yai yai.]

[She'll keep something like that forever. Make sure you really make that, Ralph. And don't skimp on the details.]

[Oh, fine! What are the King Candys getting her then?]

[Oh.. Er..]

[Uh huh. Not so easy is it?]

[Let's get her a.. training kart? Something really slow and not actually dangerous. Even humans have those, right?]

[You'll have to teach her how to control it too.]

[I'll be in charge of that memory then, ahaha!]

In all of her excitement, Candice forgot what everyone else got, but received a realistic-looking toy gun that Tamora made for her, a kart model made by Felix, a beautiful 3d etching from Ralph, and a training kart as a combined gift from her father and the King Candy of Sugar Rush 2. She absolutely loved all of her gifts, but was most satisfied just by spending time with her family and friends.

The rest of that day was full of fun and games, excited chatter, and Ralph's magic tricks.

[Come on!]

[Sorry, Ralph, uhuhu! It has to be that!]

[Ughhhhh, fine.]

* * *

"Why did you refer to Charley like that?" little Minty Zaki asked in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, he's cu-cool!" little Adorabeezle said. _Whoops._

"Hmm.. No reason," Minty Zaki said. _Ignore it for now._

Snowanna sighed and said, "Don't mind her, we're just in a bad mood."

"Why?" little Snowanna asked, crossing her arms, "He doesn't deserve you taking your frustrations out on him." _What kind of impression of us would that give him?_

"Don't worry about it," Charley said with a forced smile, "It was my idea to come here though, sorry if it's a bad time. Is there anything we can do?"

"Not really, no," Adorabeezle said, "Don't worry about it. Come on, sit down."

A few minutes of talking later.

"Really though, what's wrong?" little Adorabeezle asked. _If it's bothering you this much.._

Minty Zaki sighed heavily and said, "It's just a bunch of little things. Some bigger than others."_  
_

"I'll hear you out," little Minty Zaki said as she put her hand up on her shoulder. _If it's bothering you.._

"It's just Taffyta and her group again," Snowanna said.

"Hang on," Charley said, "What do you mean by that?" _What would they have done?_

"It's not important," Minty Zaki said, "Which is why I didn't want to talk about it."

"Well, if it concerns them," Charley said, "I would like to know. They're Jet's best friends. _Assuming it's the group I'm thinking of._

"Eww," little Minty Zaki said in disgust, "He's friends with Taffyta, Candlehead, and Rancis?"

"Hey!" Charley said in an offended tone, "I don't know what you THINK they did to you, but they don't deserve that kind of treatment." _What happened?_

"Since you're so oblivious, I'll tell you," Minty Zaki said.

"Good," Adorabeezle said, "Because **I** don't know either. We haven't even talked to them since we got plugged in."

"The biggest thing is what she did to Snowanna and I," Minty Zaki said frustratedly, "She told Gloyd that I like him in my backstory, same with Swizzle in Snowanna's. They hardly even knew us at the time! We didn't even introduce ourselves for crying out loud!" _Even if we **did** think they're cool.._ "And our fight about my and Candlehead's first names also happened." _Not to mention they're the ones always on the roster!_

"So they didn't return your feelings?" Charley asked, "I understand being upset about that, but you do realize she didn't actually do that, right? She was just plugged in with that backstory. Does she even know why you dislike her? And that doesn't excuse you treating her friends badly either. Last time I checked you're called Minty Zaki anyways. And it's a pretty name."

"That's the reason we haven't done anything to them," Snowanna said, "It doesn't mean we have to like them."

"So have you tried talking to them?" Charley asked, "Gloyd and Swizzle.."

"After what Taffyta did?" Minty Zaki asked bitterly, "And their reaction? No!" _They just laughed at us.._

"Well.." Charley said while scratching his head, "Since that was your backstory and not since getting plugged in, "Why not talk to them? You like them, right?" _I'm glad it wasn't anything they really did.._

"You talk like you have all the answers," little Minty Zaki said sadly, "You think we don't **want** to? They're just always on the run like they're avoiding us. Sometimes it seems like they might not even be interested in girls." _We're the same after all.. Her and I.._

"They probably think you hate them," Charley said nervously, "Especially if they reacted so badly.. I could try talking to them for you after getting to know them.."

"N-no!" little Snowanna said anxiously, "You'll make them more likely to pick on us!"

"They will not," Charley said, "Besides, I don't want you to be bitter towards my friends. Crumbelina in particular is upset you hate her." _I remember that from when I was merged with Jet.._

"Well I say we let him try," little Adorabeezle said. _It's worth a try. I never understood why they hated Tafftya or her friends. They never told me when I asked.._

"I agree," Adorabeezle said, "At worst things will stay the same, right? I think it's worth trying." _Does this little version of me like him? What a cute little childhood crush._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Like I said last chapter, this was typed on my iPod because of a power supply needing to be replaced in my computer. So if anything at all is out of place, **please** pm me so that I can fix it.

Don't worry so much about being unable to tell who is talking in brackets sometimes. They're supposed to seem like those nameless developers from Ralph's code. See chapter 57 if you want to compare. I'll expand on those developers soon, so keep your eyes peeled! Also there was more to Ralph's code as well, but nothing worth showing.

So yeah, Minty Zaki and Snowanna have somewhat **kind of** reasonable reasons to not care for Taffyta so much. Sorry if this development (haha..) is a let down.


	72. Chapter 72 - Charley's Confession

Ralph's group was taking a brief break after successfully writing a few memories for Candice. King Candy was simply looking over what was there, checking for errors.

"Come to think of it.." Ralph said, a grin forming on his face, "Aren't the kings wizards too? Considering they can make candy spring forth from the palms of their hands.."

"I suppose," Vannie said teasingly, "It's too bad **I** don't get any wizarding blood." _I could definitely find uses for Vanellope's glitching ability._

"I'll do your share of wizarding, okay?" Ralph said teasingly, "Hey King Candy, got anymore of those werther things?" _Caramel you said, right?_

"Here, have some candy," King Candy said with a laugh, "I Had wondered if you ate the first one." _He never commented on it until now._

"I did.." Ralph said quietly as he tapped the wrapping, making it open. _Okay so being a wizard has perks.._

"You're not getting jealous of my glitching, are you, Vannie?" Vanellope teased. _It's just a feeling I get._

"I've been meaning to fix that," King Candy(1) said seriously._  
_

"Don't you **dare**!" Vanellope said coldly. _It'll be your head that goes next._

"Relax," King Candy(1) said calmly, "You'll have the same functionality. It just won't be a glitch."

"But what if I need to check if someone is disguised as someone else?" Vanellope asked, still not wanting to hear any of it, "Had you even thought of that? It's what proved **your** innocence after all." _Would a spell accomplish that?_

"Would that still work, Candy?" King Candy(1) asked, "I honestly couldn't say.." _Last thing we need is to get rid of an asset like that._

"I would guess probably not.." King Candy said after a moment, "Just write it out to look more intentional and fluid. Give that to Vannie as well, she could use it, knowing all the trouble Ralph attracts."

"Thanks for asking **my** input.." Vannie grumbled, "But I'll gladly take it.." _It's not like I don't remember using it before, back from when she and I were merged. 'I was here, I was there..' I shouldn't remember this, but I won't say anything.._

"I got another one for ya, Ralph," Vanellope said teasingly. _A spell.._

"You don't think you're taking this wizard thing too far?" Ralph asked in an annoyed tone. _What **now**?  
_

"You'll like this one too though!" Vanellope said with a grin, "Whenever you tap your forehead, you and anyone touching you will switch into whatever outfit you're thinking of! We could all look snazzy whenever you want." _It's neat, and mostly useless. It's perfect_ _for parties.._

"And if I don't **want** to change?" Ralph said with a grin, suddenly getting an idea, "Say I want Calhoun to wear a dress. I don't want to wear one too.."

"Sounds like **someone** has a death wish," Vannie said with an annoyed smile. _I know that's an example, but if she didn't hurt you, I certainly would for doing that to another woman._

"How about me **or** whoever I'm touching?" Ralph asked while easily defending himself against Vannie's light punches, "Instead of me **and** anyone I'm touching.. And to switch back, I tap my forehead twice.. You getting all this King Candy the first? This is **really** the last one, by the way. I'm a **wrecker** by trade."

"Yes, yes, Ralph the Magnificent," King Candy(1) said, somewhat annoyed, yet happy at the same time. _Embrace your inner wizard.. That's it.. I honestly didn't expect him to make a connection to my candy ability.. _He chuckled.

* * *

"What did you mean by Crumbelina being upset?" little Minty Zaki asked. _We don't hate her..  
_

"She threw her lot in with Taffyta," Minty Zaki said, "Although.. I guess maybe it's a **little** unfair.. It's just so frustrating.."

"And racing is **our** job too," Snowanna said, gesturing with her hands as she paced around the room slowly, "I haven't made it on the roster **yet**, but they're almost **always** on it!" _That's what frustrates **me** most about them. _"You would think we would all get an equal shot. Vanellope I can understand because she's the princess, and King Candy is the king, but **them**? They just keep winning like it's nothing! Urghhh!"

"Is there nothing you can do?" Charley asked, "I know Jet is always 100% focused when he makes it on the roster.."

"Do you find it hard to concentrate?" little Adorabeezle asked softly, "If there's a reason behind not making it on the roster, I would start there instead of making excuses.." _I hope they don't hate **me** for speaking up.._

"I-I wouldn't say that.." Snowanna said as she looked out the window, her hands rested on the window sill for support, "It's really just a bunch of stupid drama where none of us are to blame, really. Like I said though, we don't have to like it."

"You also don't have to **accept** it," Charley said insistently, "I could have easily continued hating Jet and-.. Nevermind.." _Defense Mode: Activated. Okay, umm.._

"You didn't tell them, did you?" Minty Zaki asked with a sigh, "About Jet.." _This boy.. What kind of past does he have_ _with Jet anyways?_

"Not completely.." Charley said sadly, sighing as he tried to arrange the words in his head the best way possible before speaking, "I told them what he did **yesterday**.. It's the best frame of reference to go by with the kind of person he is now.."

"You lied to us?" little Adorabeezle asked, the hurt in her voice apparent. _You don't have to impress us.._

"I'm sorry.." Charley said earnestly, "I was going to tell you everything later, I **swear**.. But everything I **did** tell you is true. I just.. left out details.. I wanted to get to know you first, because otherwise I thought you'd hate me without giving me a chance to explain." He fidgeted, sitting on the couch. Its softness taunted him. He didn't **want** to be comfortable. _I don't want to lose my first real friends.. I was finally.. _He sighed shakily, his voice trembled slightly as he continued, "Jet.. used to take over games slightly, because of his brother.."

"Woah woah woah," little Adorabeezle said as she suddenly sat down in a nearby marshmallow chair, feeling as though the wind was knocked out of her, "And you kept this from us?!" _How.. _"How **could** you?" _Especially since we told you about Turbo.._

"I think we've heard enough," little Minty Zaki said angrily while crossing her arms. _I thought you were cool.._

"See?" Charley asked solemnly as he sniffled, "This is what I was afraid of. This is why I just told you it's uncomfortable. It's **true** he did all that, but what he did yesterday is **also** 100% true. And the one who tried to kill him in Dragon's Lair was **me**." _Since there's no point in hiding anything anymore.. _"My game, Food Fight.. It was the first game that was unplugged because of him and his brother.. It's not something he even really wanted to do.. His brother, he had taken control of me, like Turbo did to King Candy in your game.. After a few years of that, Set.. He deleted parts of the game so players couldn't play."

They quietly listened to him, each trying to understand exactly what had happened.

"Set was way worse than Turbo could ever hope to be," Charley said somberly, "Turbo only had two real victims, didn't he? But Set's numbered far higher. Jet was just too much of a weakling to put a stop to it. He would cry himself to sleep constantly. Mostly from the guilt, but also because of the slow corrosion of his code caused by defying it. He **couldn't** race, because he and Set were afraid they would run into Turbo.. I know all this because rather than kill him in Dragon's Lair, I had chosen to take over **his** life, **his** second chance given to him by King Candy of Sugar Rush 2." He breathed deeply, remembering the hurt Set had put him through. "But Jet is **so** much better than that! He kept **begging** me not to become like he used to be, I could feel the sincerity in his words, we were sharing the same code at the time. It wasn't about **him**, he wanted to save **me**, desperately.. Only my mom had really shown me that kind of compassion before then. And she was a glitch from the start, she couldn't leave the game. So when Food Fight was unplugged.."

Charley swallowed hard, his throat was dry from all the talking, and he was still trying to figure out how best to explain it.

"Set took everything from me, and recently killed himself," Charley said, tears streaming down his cheeks, "Jet just wants to give it all back as best he can, and then some.." He wiped his eyes, "I want to be like Jet.. I'm sorry for not telling you before. I've never really had friends before. I'm sorry for messing up. I just.." He sighed and covered his face with his hands, leaning back into the couch. _Say something, **please**.._

* * *

**Author's Note: **I really should stop giving Ralph spells. I just wanted someone to have that kind of ability, haha.

As for Charley's confession, I apologize that a bit of Jet's overly told story is in it, but it just wouldn't feel right to omit any of what I kept in.

Still writing on my iPod, let me know if I missed anything, please.


	73. Chapter 73

"So he went back to our game after all," Jet said with a sigh as Ashley zipped away towards E-Z Livin', "You sure you girls want to come along? _Are you that worried about Charley?_

"I'll follow along a bit longer," little Crumbelina said as they headed for Sugar Rush 2, "I said I'd keep an eye on you, I wasn't joking."

"Crumbelina~!" little Minty said with a sigh. _Enough, okay? Cease! Desist! I beseech thee. Whatever that means!_

"Well what do you expect me to do?" little Crumbelina asked rhetorically.

"Play nice?" little Minty said hopefully. _It would be great._

Little Crumbelina sighed and shook her head before saying, "I **am** playing nice, trust me. This is the best he could hope for right now until I can see what she sees."

"So what you're saying is.." little Jubileena said wryly, "Once you fall in love with Jet, you'll allow it." _For some reason I don't even care how rude that came out._

"Wh-?" little Crumbelina said in disturbed shock, "That's disgusting. We're still kids, you know?" _I don't even want to have **that** thought in my head._

"She's joking," Jubileena said, "But you **should** lighten up. You'll get wrinkles."

"Hello?" little Crumbelina said with a dismissive laugh, "Game characters? Regardless, why is it really that you guys trust him so much?" _I get that he has done some good since becoming part of Sugar Rush 2, but his **past** is what concerns me. His past doesn't warrant trusting him at all. And also he is, or maybe just **was** weak-willed.  
_

"I think talking about it is a lost cause," Garret said with a laugh. _I might as well add my two cents in. _"He's got a girlfriend, a home, his racing career, a kid who depends on him, et cetera. What reason amongst all that do we have to even think of not trusting him? Besides, he's proven himself trustworthy besides all that." _The guy wants to clean up his mess like us big boys do. Still a big mess he's made though. Whether he did it alone or not. But facts are facts. He's trustworthy now._

"Let her be skeptical," Jet said with a smile, "I think it's endearing how much she cares about her counterpart's wellbeing." _That **is** what this is about, right?_

"Why does **he** have to be the one that understands where I'm coming from?" little Crumbelina asked, "That's exactly what this is about."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one," Jet said with a warm smile, "They're just picking with you." _You're a good kid, aren't you?_

Little Crumbelina sighed. _You're doing the whole smiling thing on purpose aren't you? Quit being so nice when I'm keeping an eye on you. Urghh.. That's so manipulative! Why is it working even though I know what he's doing? Add manipulative to the list, why not? You know he isn't good enough, Crumbelina. That hasn't changed. It won't, either._

"So.." Jet said cheerfully, which made little Crumbelina jump slightly, "Charley is with the younger versions of Adorabeezle, Snowanna, and Minty Zaki.. Two of those I'm not surprised by." _But Minty Zaki?.. I can see that maybe being trouble.._

"Great, so he's corrupting my other friends," little Crumbelina said.

"Want a piggyback ride?" Jet asked cheerfully. _Lighten up some. You'd make a good friend for Charley too._

"Don't.." little Crumbelina said. _What are you really trying to say?_

"I think she does!" Minty said happily, "Come on. You're too small to say no." She picked her up without hesitation. _Certain Kill: Piggyback Technique.  
_

"I blame this on you too, Jet," little Crumbelina said with a sigh. _You do realize this isn't helping.._

* * *

"Oh, you changed it," little Taffyta said with a laugh as Calhoun came into the room wearing her other alternate outfit. The shirt was a simple white t-shirt and the pants were camouflage patterned.

"Which is better?" Calhoun asked in a dead serious tone. _It looks fine to me, but I've never been one for choosing outfits. Why do I even care?_

"Well if you're going for looks," little Taffyta said with a smile, "The other one is better. But this one looks more like something you would pick. They both suit you though." _I_ _still say we can do better._

"Right.." Calhoun said as she sat down heavily onto the couch, "So what did you have in mind, Taffyta?"

"For outfits?" little Taffyta asked happily

"No.." Calhoun said, forcing herself not to smile, "I mean what you wanted to do here. There isn't really much in the way of.. anything." _All this place has been used for so far is eating, sleeping, and **sleeping**._

Felix shifted in his seat between the two. _I'm stuck in the middle of a two person conversation.. I can't let her know I've joined her fanclub. That's just silly. Member number 2 even! I wonder what I'll get.. Although I've already got the best thing possible. Well using the word 'thing' is inappropriate. She's a person, not a thing._

"I hadn't even thought about it," little Taffyta said with a sheepish laugh, "I guess I really should go though." She frowned. "Rancis is probably running around like a lost puppy." _I hope he's taken a few good pictures._

"Alright," Calhoun said, "Later."

"Goodnight," Felix said cheerfully. _Run away upon mission complete, hmm? I expected her to stay a while longer. I guess she only planned this far._

"Stay sweet," little Taffyta said with a smile. _I should have thought about that.. Oh well._

"Well that happened," Calhoun said after little Taffyta left. She stared at the floor, not really paying attention to what she was doing, "I'm going pass out until the arcade is ready to open."_ I might as well stay dressed in this since I don't have to worry about the armor. This is at least practical. Why is it such a big deal that I'm not wearing my armor right now anyways? I figured I would catch the photographer like this and get it over with. But now people are all 'Oh please keep wearing that! We can get more!'.. Seriously. You'd think they never saw a grown woman before._

"You've not moved from that spot **yet**," Felix said with a smile after a moment. _You're working your brain hard, aren't you?_

Calhoun scoffed and said, "Tell me something I don't know." _I was just getting to that. _"You coming?" She stood up and went to their room, then just let herself fall backwards onto the bed. _Today has not been my day ever since Wreck-It raced off to the castle. He seems so different ever since leaving the code room. Like he isn't worried about anything anymore.. Except that he's a wizard. Maybe it's in my best interests to stop teasing him about that.._

Felix chuckled to himself at the doorway of their bedroom as Calhoun turned her head to look at him. _You are taking this **way** too hard._

"I am not," Calhoun said with a sigh.

"You totally are," Felix said with a chuckle. _How we can tell what each other is thinking sometimes is beyond me. At least I think we're on the same page._

"In or out," Calhoun said with an annoyed smile, "Don't just stand in the doorway, it's distracting." _When I say I want to pass out, I mean it._

* * *

"How about Halloween?" Vanellope said with a smile, "That's another good potential memory. Especially since she's around the age for trick-or-treating. And she's friends with a zombie."

"Ralph's outfit ability could come into play here too," Vannie said teasingly, "See? It's a good thing." _Such a fussy wizard. You didn't have to password lock your files._

"I don't need these spells for my game though," Ralph said insistently, "I just feels **weird**."

"Don't even pretend you didn't add the cleaning thing yourself," Vanellope said teasingly, "I won't pick on you for doing it though, promise. I understand it bothered you." _I knew it was odd right away. But I didn't connect the dots until a while ago.  
_

"Then don't bring it up so much," Ralph grumbled as he hugged Vanellope and tapped his forehead, making her outfit change into a copy of his that fit her perfectly. _Now stay like that for a while. _He chuckled.

"See?" Vanellope said with an annoyed smile, "You love it already." _This is actually kind of nice._

"Hey!" Vannie said while furrowing her brow, "He started without us!"

"You should be paying attention," King Candy(1) said with a laugh as he typed away. _So many bracketed lines. __I've erased a few of those already. _It's a good thing she won't remember this dialogue, it would be one awkward conversation to have.

"After this I say we call it a day," King Candy said with a yawn, rubbing his eyes, "We'll work on her more tomorrow and every day after until she's ready."

"How old will she be again?" Vannie asked, "I mean, since we're up to 9 years old now.."

"Well I think about your age would be best," King Candy(1) said, "I was hoping she would like to help out with coding. It's all my counterpart and I have been doing lately."

"So where **is** Zombie, anyways?" Ralph asked as he changed Vannie's outfit into a copy of his. _You'll regret giving me this ability. _Vannie simply scoffed and glitched out of it, changing back into her original outfit in the process, leaving the Ralph-fit to float around.

"He went to Tapper's with Zangief," King Candy(1) said with a laugh, "He's got a working stomach, believe it or not."

"Make sure you don't leave your trash in here," King Candy said, "I don't need candy wrappers and such floating around." _I'm_ _looking at **you**, Ralph._

* * *

**Author's Note:** It'll soon be time to skip ahead to Adrenaline Rush's entrance. Just a few more chapters at most. A few special characters will be making their entrance. Some expected, some not. I can hardly wait.

On that note, if you have outfit suggestions for Candice and Calhoun, send them my way.

Still typing with my iPod here, haha.


	74. Candice's Halloween Memory

"He can still be anywhere," Taffyta said teasingly, "Let's go in town first though. We can look for Jet's kart."

"Good idea,"Rancis said with a smile, "Charley knows the code for your kart, right Jet?"_ He was merged with you, after all. I bet that was nightmare_ _fuel._

"He should, yes," Jet said with a modest laugh, "I think it's safe to assume he knows anything I knew before today." _It's a good thing Crumbelina and I didn't have sex before that. It would have been really, __**really**__ awkward.. I shouldn't even be thinking about this right now though. We should probably hold off on that too until we can get some sort of soundproofing done. That'd be great._

* * *

Little Adorabeezle stood up and slowly walked over to Charley, whose hands were still cupped into his face. She crossed her arms and her face made it quite apparent she was trying to make a decision. _On the one hand he hid all that from us, but on the other, I can see where he's coming from. I don't know if I would have heard him out at all before getting to know him a little.. He seems sincere, but he still lied._

"Do you **really** know Ralph?" little Minty Zaki asked coldly. _I'll consider forgiving him if Ralph says It's okay. I still don't like that he's friends with Taffyta though. She never even apologized, which is the __**least**__ she could do._

"I know **him**.." Charley said through his hands, "We've never spoken face to face though. Jet is the one he's friends with."

"We can prove that by asking him," little Snowanna said. _Ralph is the one who stopped Turbo, so if he thinks we can trust Charley, I will. Otherwise he can forget it._

"He's at least **partially** telling the truth," Minty Zaki said plainly, "Whether you forgive him or not isn't my problem though. We have enough problems already." _He might be okay. It's not for me to decide._

"I said I would help you with that.." Charley said nervously, finally looking up after wiping his eyes, "I still plan to, unless you're **really** satisfied with how things are.." _Adorabeezle is a lot closer than I thought she was.. _He looked at her apologetically.

"You can't lie to people the way you did," little Adorabeezle said sincerely, "I'll forgive you this **one** time since you had it so bad until now, but don't expect this kind of leniency again, or from anyone else. That was a **big** lie." _I hope they don't hate me for this. Since I'm 'throwing my lot in with him'.._

"You sure that's wise?" little Snowanna asked dryly. _I don't even want to be so bitter about this. She's right though, it's huge deal.._

"Not entirely," little Adorabeezle said as she looked over to her friends, "But King Candy is the one who made him a part of this game. Same with Jet. I would assume he at least made sure they're safe for us to be around." _Were you not listening to his heartfelt apology at all?_

"I can't hurt anyone.." Charley said as he sniffled hard, "Not unless you count throwing ice cream." _Jet could if he wanted to though. He's got knives.. And that Force power. But he earned that, sort of. Not really, but he needed it to fight me. He just couldn't hold me back long enough._

* * *

"Uh-oh.." Crumbelina said as she saw Jet, Snowanna and Minty Zaki's karts parked in Adorabeezle's driveway as they drove up, "We should probably just leave.." _They hate us, you know? Don't panic, Crumbelina. You haven't even had an attack since we were plugged in.. Maybe that's just in my head?_

"So **what** if Minty Zaki is here?" little Crumbelina asked, "If she hates us, I'd like to hear the reason why." _You lost our backbone? We'll have to work on that too. That may have played a role in her dating Jet as well.._

"It will be fine," Jet said, "We'll settle this like adults. And kids who have been 9 years old for 15 years." He smirked. _It's a joke.._

"That's not **our** fault," little Jubileena said, "And what does that make **you** anyway?" She laughed. "You're 19 or 20 like the other Sugar Rush 2 racers, but then you've been in this arcade for 30 years.. Doesn't that make you effectively 50 years old?"

"It makes me effectively 20," Jet said with a laugh, "It was a joke anyway. I wanted to lighten the mood." _Since everyone seems to need it._

Jet walked up to the door and knocked. _Fight the urge to run.. Not a good time for pranks. I swore off.._

The door was slowly opened by Adorabeezle who asked, "Wh-what brings you guys here?" She laughed nervously. _Just as we kind of settle the issue with Charley another one comes our way.._

"We were just looking for my kid, Charley," Jet said nonchalantly. _Whether he be a son or little brother, he's 'mah boi'._

"And since Jet's kart is here," Garret said as he and the others walked closer, "We figured he must be as well."

"Can we come in?" Taffyta asked as sweetly as she could, "We would also like to try talking things out with Minty Zaki and Snowanna." _Depending on how this goes, we can either be friends, or she can just keep hating us for whatever baseless reason. As long as they don't do anything to us, it's fine by me how she feels._

"I'm not so sure now is the best time.." Adorabeezle said hesitantly. _I don't see a positive outcome here.. Charley is mostly uninvolved, and he was already inside.. But if she comes in here, all bets are off._

"Don't worry," Jet said, "It'll be fine."

"I can't be so sure.." Adorabeezle said.

"Minty, a little assistance please?" _I hope she knows what I mean and agrees to this method.._

"Please?" Minty asked as she took Adorabeezle's hand between hers. _I won't pull her out of the way, if that's what he was expecting. I know I can be like that sometimes, but I won't trespass._

"Who is it Adorabeezle?" Minty Zaki asked. _Sounded like someone said my name.. I can't quite make out who.._

"Fine.." Adorabeezle said reluctantly, already regretting the decision of letting them inside, "You'd better not get into a fight."

* * *

Out of all the Halloweens Candice had experienced so far, the one that took place when she was 9 years old stood out as the most memorable. Ralph gave her an amazing zombie princess costume, her fascination with the undead having persisted throughout the years due to her father's best friend being a zombie.

"You keep getting better at this, Ralphie," Candice said with an excited laugh, "The fake blood is a **really** nice touch." It practically oozed out of every fake wound on her costume.

[Wow.. You sure aren't squeamish about this kind of thing.]

[Oh please, ahaha. I'm friends with a zombie. Do you think blood is going to bother me?]

[My costume would have to be a vampire president. What's a presidential outfit anyways? Just go with that Uncle Sam guy's clothes covered in blood. So that Candice and I have an undead political theme to both of our costumes.]

[I want mine to be something gothic maybe..]

[Really? **You** want something gothic..]

[What are you trying to say, Ralph?]

[It's just unexpected. So something like this?]

[Too much pink. Way too much. It needs more black. Maybe black and green.]

[Salmon.]

[Pink.]

[Quit interrupting, ahaha. I have to keep deleting bracketed lines for everything you say.]

[We're helping, be happy.]

"I'm glad you like it, kid," Ralph said with a warm smile. His costume was an angular, pitch black warlock outfit with a long wooden staff which was made by Felix, who was wearing a mime-soldier costume.

[A what?]

[I was about to ask too.]

[Shh..]

"I can't believe you thought I was serious," Calhoun said with a teasing laugh, "It looks oddly fitting though. Don't mind him, he just wanted to be a mime for some reason so I told him he should spice it up with armor." She was still wearing her armor, but it and her face had glowing red lines and binary code on them which was meant to look as though she was infected with a virus that was wearing away at her code. Her eyes were also glowing red.

[Wow.. Now that's creepy. Costume contest winner there.]

[Is that in-character? I don't know her well. She isn't very talkative around me.]

[Hmm close enough. If she doesn't approve she can have it changed.]

"Jiminy jaminy.." Felix said grumpily, "Ralph help me out here, brother."

"What'll it be?" Ralph asked with a laugh.

[So what would you suggest?]

[He would probably like a hunter's costume. The ducks in our game frustrate him more than I do during open hours.]

[I've seen no ducks..]

[They're only present from level 7 onwards.]

"Oh, I've got ya.. There," Ralph said with a chuckle, "Now you're a hunter."

"Jeepers," Felix said with a grin as he examined his new costume, "Now why didn't I think of that?"

"Needs more armor," Calhoun said teasingly.

[Where am I in all this? And you and his other highness and Vannie. Oh, and Zombie of course.]

[We're there, Wreck-It Vanellope, keep your overalls on.]

[This would have been a good costume too, haha.]

[So we're all gathered together, but where?]

"Zombie still not used to parties.." Zombie said as he wormed his way through a crowd of racers and other game characters over from the table with, among snacks and other assorted drinks, a giant glass punch bowl with some green colored fruit punch and white grapes floating in it. He cautiously took a sip of the mystery liquid. His hands were much steadier than you would expect for a walking corpse. At least when he put his mind to it.

[He isn't too interested in brains or flesh, huh?]

[That's just what he's based off of. You don't think game characters would truly be forced to cannibalize their potential friends to survive, do you?]

[I've never seen him eat, so I couldn't have known.]

[I thought he was after my brains when I first met him in Diet Cola Mountain, ahaha..]

"You sure don't seem to mind all this fake blood dripping onto you," Vanellope said teasingly as she sat on Ralph's shoulder and hung her face down in front of his, "I guess wizards can take care of that sort of thing though." She was wearing a costume which was a mix between a vampire and Uncle Sam, the personification of the United States goverment. She wore a white top hat that had a blue stripe with white stars in it along the brim. Her shirt was a white button up which had a red bow tie on its collar. Over that was a blue business coat of sorts. Her pants where-

[Typo!]

[Shhhhhh. I can spot typos like that myself.]

(Deleting) Her pants had white and red vertical stripes.

"So when are we going trick-or-treating?!" Candice asked excitedly, "I want to see more costumes!" She jumped up and down.

"Soon!" King Candy said with a laugh. He and his counterpart from Sugar Rush 2 were wearing similar clown costumes, one red, one blue.

"Patience now," Vannie said teasingly, "The arcade is closed today, so there's plenty of time." She was wearing a tasteful black and green gothic lolita outfit.

[Like you had to add the word tasteful..]

[I felt it was best, yes.]

[Mah meh mi mah mes. Whatever.]

[Ahaha, quit that. So rude.]

[Well you're acting like I'm a child, 'other Dad.']

[Oh, I am not. I'll take the word out if it bothers you that much.]

[No, it's fine.. Just continue.]

Candice was counting down the minutes. Except she didn't know what minute to count down from so she kept counting down from 10.

[She's impatient.]

[You're one to talk, ahaha.]

[You're back, Dad! Thought you got lost.]

[I was thirsty, sue me. How are we doing?]

[Almost time to trick-or-treat!]

After what Candice felt was an eternity of waiting, the party finally wound down and the guests left the giant ball room of the castle and prepared for the yearly chaos known as trick-or-treating. There were lots of good costumes, but none compared to Calhoun's. She proudly walked away with the award for best costume. Second place went to Ralph.

[Booyah!]

[Well you made almost all of our costumes..]

[Fair's fair, kid.]

The rest of the evening was spent visiting every house in the neighborhood, including the haunted house set up by the Orangeboars.

[Well, it's something Gloyd's parents do every year, with his assistance, of course, ahaha.]

[It's his favorite holiday, after all.]

[Alright, this is a good stopping point. Bring Calhoun and Felix next time.]

[Goodnight Dads.]

[Goodnight, sweetheart.]

* * *

**Author's Note:** Time went by fast writing this, haha. I had to keep the Halloween memory a bit short since none of the racers will know Candice at first. No point in her knowing them when they won't know her as well.


	75. Hugs

"Sorry 'bout this.." Leon said as he lightly patted Adorabeezle on the shoulder in passing as the group entered her home. _Someone has to say it.._

"Jet!" Charley said with a mix of both relief and anxiety. _I'm glad he's here. That makes things easier for me. But Taffyta will make things difficult, probably._

"Hey," Taffyta said with a smile as she ran her fingers through Charley's hair before sitting on the arm rest of the couch, next to him. _There isn't much room to sit._

The Minty Zakis crossed their arms and scowled, as did the Snowannas.

"L-long time no talk," Crumbelina said with a **very** nervous laugh. _Don't panic.. See? We're fine. Why would I need to have a panic attack anyways? That's stupid, Brain.._

"Mhm," Minty Zaki said plainly. _It was pretty mean to hurt her because of how I feel about Taffyta.. Backstory or not.. I can't just-_

"Can you just **please** tell us?" Taffyta asked Minty Zaki. Her voice was somewhat strained, but not intentionally so. "I found out just earlier you hate us. **Why**?" _I refuse_ _to let this unspoken hate continue. If you hate us, say why._

"Let me guess," Snowanna said to Adorabeezle in an annoyed tone, "You told her.."

"She did.." Minty said sincerely, "But why? What did we do to you? Can't we make nice and be friends?"

"You **honestly** don't have a clue.." Minty Zaki said frustratedly. It was clear that this was aimed at Taffyta. "That you don't get it just-"

"**What**?!" Taffyta asked frustratedly, "We've been plugged in a **week**! And not once have we interacted at all aside from the race! What did we do?!" _Not even a week, actually._

"You **humiliated** us.." Snowanna said dryly, trying to keep her cool. At least better than Taffyta and Minty Zaki were doing.

"We don't remember that," Jubileena said, "When was this? And how?"

"When you were kids.." Charley said shyly. _I don't know if I should interfere or not, but I will.. What will **you** do, Jet?_

"I don't know about you," Jubileena said, "But when we were plugged in, **I** was already 19 years old."

Minty Zaki sighed. _We've gone over this.. Anything to add this time Charley? Since you apparently speak for us now.._

"I told them that already.." Charley said guiltily after glancing over to Minty Zaki, "Should.. I keep going?"_ I think she's mad at me too now.. I should shut up. They're tolerating me at least.._

"No," Adorabeezle said softly, "I'll do it. Since they're cooling off." _Now isn't the time for puns, Brain._ "It's because you told Gloyd and Swizzle these two like them. They do, but they weren't met with a favorable outcome." _I can't say I've ever been met with that sort of rejection.._

Taffyta opened her mouth to speak a good two seconds before sincerely saying, "I'm so sorry.. I don't remember doing that, but that's not what I would have wanted to happen.." _I would have definitely told them though, if I know myself any.._

"Of course it's not.." Snowanna said with a sigh, "The whole thing is stupid.." _Why do we have to be so hung up on this? So stupid.. _She clenched her hands together and leaned her forehead into them with her elbows rested on her knees._ Why do we have such a stupid backstory to begin with? It would have been fine if we were simply turned down, but they had to laugh and run off then never talk to us.. For 10 years. Why are we not over it by now? Swizzle should have just.._

"Why not try one of the other guys out in the arcade?" little Crumbelina asked softly, "There are lots out there.."_ **Your** first choices aren't exactly the best either.. I'd help you pick good ones.._

"I don't know.." Minty Zaki said frustratedly as she kept her arms crossed and nervously tapped her foot. _Why? Why do I still want to try going out with him even after he laughed at me? It's been 10 years.. I haven't really even spoken with him.. And why are they acting like they care? I hate them.. They should just hate me back. It would make this so much easier.. _She cradled the bridge of her nose with her fingers. _I will **not** cry because of this. I'm a grown woman, I should act like it. I should **act** like it.. _"I'm sorry.. This whole thing isn't really your fault.." She swallowed her pride as hard as she could. _I don't know what to expect to happen with this.._

"Friends?" Taffyta asked softly. _I'll find a way to make it up to you.. Maybe if I talk to Swizzle and Gloyd again.. Why do we all have to have sad backstories? I think Minty's is the only odd one out, but she's got that nickname instead. And the wild imagination.. _She sighed and felt tears welling in her eyes as she came to a realization. _I_ _don't guess Mom will ever come home.. _A lump began forming in her throat.

"I don't know if I can go that far yet.." Minty Zaki said with a deep sigh, "I'll try though." _It would be nice to put all this behind us..  
_

Taffyta walked over to Minty Zaki and gave her a long, comforting hug. _This hug is as much for me as it is for you right now.. I'm such a baby, wanting to see my mom so badly.. _She started crying. "I'm **so** sorry. Both of you.." _My parents probably don't_ _even exist.._

Minty Zaki laughed sadly and asked, "Why are you crying?" She patted Taffyta on the back gently as she started crying as well. _I said I won't cry.. Why did you get me started?_

"Someone give me a hug too.." Snowanna said longingly, "Developer knows I need it.." _So pathetic. Why did I even ask?_

Minty went up to Snowanna and gave her a big hug. _You only have to ask once. I don't know what you're going through exactly, but we all need a hug sometimes. I'm so glad we were able to settle this.. We have to talk to the boys.. It's unacceptable to leave it like this._

"Thank you.." Snowanna said shakily. _I needed this so badly.. Why are we so miserable? This is **stupid**!_

* * *

"One more thing.." Vannie said with a smile, "I want to see what my code says about me.." _Since Ralph was so liberated after seeing his, though he did tweak it to make him able to instantly clean himself.. Honestly, I don't blame him, but I could have lived with it._

"It's basically the same as the memory you see when you look at the photo of your parents in your room.." King Candy said sadly, "Of course there's also the outcome of when you win your story mode campaign."

"There's nothing else?" Vannie asked, "I don't need spoilers.." _I was hoping for more.._

"I'm afraid not.." King Candy said, "There's developer banter about your character traits, but that's standard fare for everyone." _I'm glad she doesn't want spoilers. It would ruin things._

"How about mine then?" Vanellope said with a smile, "There won't be any spoilers in there." _Ralph should be allowed to see whatever is in there._

King Candy reluctantly escorted them to her file. _I'm sorry I've hidden this from you, Vanellope.. It was an understandable request so I reluctantly fulfilled it, but.._

Vanellope hummed her game's theme song as she opened her file up and King Candy swiped sideways to reveal her black box to her.

* * *

It was a bright and sunny day just a few months prior. She was happily riding along with her parents headed to the land of Adrenaline Rush chatting about how she can hardly wait to learn how to drive a kart.

...

...

...

[As she requested, Vanellope has almost completely forgotten this memory. (I'm sorry, Vanellope.- King Candy.)]

* * *

"No.." Vanellope choked out, "They were there in my code all along too?" She wiped her eyes vigorously then clung onto Ralph who was staring at the code, fighting back tears of his own. _Why? Couldn't they keep that to themselves?_

Ralph hugged Vanellope tightly, hoping it would ease the pain of remembering her parents's deaths in detail a second time. _I was hoping it wasn't like this.. I'm sorry, Vanellope.._

"I was based on you, after all.." Vannie said somberly as she gently stroked Vanellope's hair and hugged her and Ralph as best as she could. _Somehow I knew it would be like this.._

"You still have me.." Ralph said softly, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." _I'll keep this promise as long as I can.. I have to.._

"And you have me as well," Vannie said softly as tears trickled down her cheeks, "We're here for keeps."

"Thanks, **Dad**..**Mom**.." Vanellope said meekly, "You're all I'll ever need. Sorry King.." _I won't lie to you about it. These two are almost everything to me._

"It's quite alright, Vanellope.." King Candy(1) said solemnly, "I understand.." _I'm glad you let them into the place in your heart you had locked away since our game was first plugged in. I'm sad that I'm not among them, but it could be worse. So, so much worse..  
_

"Come on," Ralph said softly, "I think it's time we got out of here.." _Don't worry, I won't argue about it.._

"Now that you know," King Candy said solemnly, "Do you want to keep it? Or should I.." _If it will make you happy.._

"I'll keep it.." Vanellope said somberly, barely above a whisper. _Ralph's hug is so much better today..  
_

* * *

**Author's Note: **I originally wanted to make Minty Zaki and Snowanna some kind of recurring hatemongers, but I like this better for some reason.

Taffyta, don't get me started too..

For Vanellope's full memory, see chapter 36. It was slightly reworded here, what little I wrote of it, since it was for Vanellope this time, not how it was for Vannie's memory. Also as a clarification for her only needing Ralph and Vannie.. She doesn't mean it like 'I don't care about anyone else.', but rather like 'As long as I have these two, I can do anything.'

Still typing on my iPod, so if you see any weird typos or the like, please let me know so that I can fix it.


	76. Day 5's End - Sugar Addiction

"I guess we're chopped liver," little Minty Zaki said to little Snowanna. _They're not the only ones hurting here. It's not like I'm asking for a hug or anything. Just acknowledge we're here. Since the older me can put it past her, I should do the same. I don't even know what I would expect from Gloyd in the first place.  
_

"I got you.." little Minty said while going over to her and giving her a hug. _I can't help it that I get distracted easily.._

"Sorry," little Crumbelina said as she hugged little Snowanna, "You don't **really** hate me, do you?" _We've been together a long time. Even though they never did explain their backstory with the boys until now.._

"No," The Minty Zakis and Snowannas more or less said in unison.

"Not really.." Minty Zaki added. _It wasn't mature of us to react the way we did just because you became friends with Taffyta. I just hated her so much after what happened.._

"Where's **our** Taffyta?" little Minty Zaki asked, "I don't know if she would even want to call a truce or not.." _This whole thing **is** pointless. It was so much better when Turbo was in charge, except for how we treated Vanellope.. And what King Candy was going through. We were at least all getting along, even if it was forced._

"She and Rancis stayed behind at the track to see what Ralph and Vanellope were doing," little Minty said with a shrug as she backed away a little bit and put her hands into the pockets of her racing jacket, "I'm not sure where they went after that 'cause we went to the Junkyard to mess with the abandoned karts from last week. _There's so many of them. You'd think they would park them in the lots in case they wanted to come drive around sometime.._

"I'm surprised you didn't stay too.." little Minty Zaki said. _I might as well make conversation with my new 'friend'. This idea will take a** lot** of getting used to.._

"Normally I would," little Minty said with a laugh, "But it's not like we have to spend every waking hour together. We can have as many friends as we want, you know?" _Look how many I have as an adult! I just wish Crumbelina would be more like er.. Crumbelina, and accept Jet already. I **am** tempted to find out what Ralph was doing though.._

"So, Jet.." little Snowanna said, "Is it true what Charley told us?" _Sorry to break the mood and conversation, but I feel it's something we need to discuss._

"Well," Jet said with a sigh and scratched the back of his head, "If by that you mean me having taken over games before, along with my brother Set.. Yes, that's true. But I don't enjoy the fact that I did it, I'm sure he must have told you that as well.." _I don't know if I should be glad or disappointed he told them. He seems to have resolved it already though since they're only just now bringing up the topic, and so casually.._

"What I want to know is.." little Minty Zaki said while crossing her arms, "Was it **really** so necessary to do that? Why'd you keep doing it even after knowing what happened the** first** time?.." _If you're such a kind and noble person now, there must have been some of that in the old you too. So what happened?_

"If you know enough to ask that," Jet said with a sigh, "Then I'm sure you must know what kind of answer to expect. I was an idiot. A weak-willed idiot. I still may be a bit of an idiot, actually. That hasn't changed, but I'm making the most of my second chance." _I don't know how else I can express it._

"Yes.." little Minty Zaki said, "I'm sure you are." She looked over to Crumbelina. "Can we really trust him?" She looked over to Jet again. "Are you really friends with Ralph?" _I guess I'm being a little too fast with the questions.._

"Yes," Crumbelina said, "Little me over here isn't so sure, but you can trust him." _She'll come around soon, I think. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking. And I'm so glad this whole thing was settled. I don't know what gave me the notion that I have panic attacks, but I'm glad that I was apparently wrong. It's going to bother me for a while that I even thought that. Where'd the idea come from?_

"As for me being Ralph's friend, I suppose you can say that," Jet said, "He brought me to a Bad-Anon meeting and we went to Dragon's Lair together to settle a matter.. then he brought me home personally afterwards. I wouldn't call us best buds or anything though." _He'll probably be a bit distant with me for a while yet._

"We **do** know Charley was the one in Dragon's Lair," little Snowanna said knowingly, "You don't have to word around it. That's deceptive. We nearly excommunicated Charley for that." _I think I used that word right._

Jet's mind went blank for a fraction of a second before saying, "O-oh, okay.. I'm guessing you're.." _I guess I shouldn't hide Charley's past either.._

"We'll let him hang out with us," little Adorabeezle said, "He's had it rough enough as it is.. We'll be his friends as long as he doesn't try to hide things from us anymore." _I couldn't imagine living without Sugar Rush.._

"And you should set a better example for him too," little Crumbelina said to Jet, "Deception isn't going to get you anywhere." _I guess I can scratch off weak-willed and easy to break by now, but he's still manipulative, and deceptive when it comes to Charley._

"You're right," Jet said, "You're quite wise for a kid." _You're practically a little sensei.._

"Trying to flatter me now, huh?" little Crumbelina said. _Don't let it work on you. You know what he's up to. Don't you dare smile, Mouth._

Little Minty Zaki and little Snowanna laughed.

"She sees right through you, Jet," Crumbelina said jokingly while rubbing his back.

"Oh, please," Jet said with an embarrassed laugh. _Lower.._

They continued talking for a while, the mood staying modestly upbeat for the most part until they decided it was best to leave and get some rest after all that walking and driving around.

"We'll come up with something about Gloyd and Swizzle, alright?" Minty said intently, "Whether you still want to date them or not, whether they would give it a shot or not, they have to at least acknowledge what they did was wrong." _They're just so **wrong** for what they did!_ _They would be **lucky** to be forgiven, let alone __date Minty Zaki and Snowanna_!

"Just.. Give us time, okay?" Snowanna said, "We probably really only have one chance at this, I don't want to rush into anything." _For all I know they might not even realize what they're doing. Although that's.. No, I guess it's a good possibility, since Taffyta didn't know.. Why can't we all be on the same page?_

They finally parted ways and returned to their homes, though Leon and Garret of course lingered in Sugar Rush 2.

* * *

A while after Ralph's group had left Tapper's, Zombie and Zangief came walking in. It was an occurrence that did not go unnoticed by Ash and Gary who were still talking it up. Zangief and Zombie were slightly surprised that someone was sitting in 'Ralph's spot'. It wasn't reserved, per se, but all the same there was an unspoken agreement between the other patrons that it was designated for Ralph and his friends.

"Hey Zombie, Zangief," Gary said as he took a sip of another root beer that was slid his way a while earlier. _You remember me from Bad-Anon, right? It was only two days ago.  
_

"You are somehow familiar," Zangief said, "I am afraid, however, your face does not ring any bells." _I believe this is correct use of expression._

Gary pulled his mask, which was hanging at the back of his outfit, back over his face. _You should have been able to tell from the rest of my outfit who I am, right?_

"He Gary," Zombie said while tapping Zangief in the side with the back of his hand, "**Zombie** knew right away." He turned his gaze over to Ash.

"The name's Ash," Ash said with a smile, "You must be friends of Ralph." _I'm forgetting something._ "Oh, I'm from Undead Apocalypse 3."

"I am Zangief," Zangief said as he and Zombie sat down nearby, "I am Bad Guy from Street Fighter II." _If he knows Ralph, he is good guy. Gary, not so sure. Could be recording again._

"Zombie from The House of the Dead," Zombie said before opening and closing his mouth a few times and reaching for the root beer which was slid in front of him.

Tapper nodded to himself in silence. _I'm glad I don't have to fear for my brain._

Gary pulled his mask off again. _I rather not get the mask dirty, even though there's a small mouth hole on this thing. And I wouldn't be caught dead using a straw._

* * *

"Alright, I give up," Calhoun said with a sigh as she glanced over to Felix who was now also laying on his back beside her, "What the hell are castanets?" _I can't sleep without knowing what Ralph was talking about._

"They're.." Felix said with a chuckle, "They're an instrument, kind of? They're these shells held together by a string at the end. They make this clicking sound. Ralph told me about this one time he and Vanellope went to Altered Beast so she could meet Neff.. Neff has these stage shows every now and then for plays or dance performances. Athena, daughter of Zeus, does this dance called the Flamenco using castanets in each hand. If you had seen it, you would know how hilarious what Ralph said earlier actually is."

"We've got a game here with Greek gods in it?" Calhoun asked in mild surprise, "I never would have guessed. So is she pretty?"

"You know that's an unfair question," Felix said with a frown, "But she pales in comparison to this **soldier** I met in Hero's Duty. You may know her.."

"Yeah, yeah," Calhoun said with a laugh before adopting a southern accent, "Anyways, hit the sack. I'm plumb tuckered out." _Maybe now I can get some sleep._

Felix chuckled and slid himself closer to her and they easily went to sleep. Calhoun dreamed of Ralph dancing in a cartoony manner with tiny shells in his hands making clicking noises.

* * *

"Should we make this a habit?" Garret asked as he wandered into Jubileena's house after her. _It's up to you. You know I'm game if you are._

"You have got to be doing this on purpose," Jubileena said with a chuckle. _I didn't mean to say that out loud.._

"Do what?" Garret said with a laugh, "I just mean, you know.." _I guess I'm a bit eager to spend any kind of time alone with you, but it's been a long day. Surely you must be happy to be away from 'all those people', right?_

"I **do** know, that's why I said it," Jubileena said with a wry smile. _Well I **didn't** mean to say it, but that's beside the point._

"I can't help but wonder if there's something you're not telling me," Garret said while cocking an eyebrow.

"I like 'sugar', okay?" Jubileena said while crossing her arms, "Not just **candy** sugar.." _This analogy isn't helping my case.. I wasn't even that nervous when Minty and I brought you to Hero's Duty when we first saw you.._

"So.." Garret said thoughtfully, "I give you a 'sugar rush'.." _I do hope so.._

Jubileena sighed with an annoyed smile before looking away and said, "Yeah." _Very funny.. This topic just had to come up. Me and my big mouth._

"So you're afraid of getting too much 'sugar'?" Garret said wryly. _We **are** talking about sex and affection in general, right?_

"Ha ha.." Jubileena said as they sat down on her couch, "I guess that's about right though.. Not so much afraid, but, I don't know." _I'm not so sure myself. I want it, but I don't want it. I can't make up my mind._

"You're not going to go through withdrawals going without 'sugar' are you?" Garret said teasingly. _I hope I'm not pushing my luck here._

"I knew it!" Jubileena said wryly, "You **are** doing it on purpose."

"Well I am **now**," Garret said with a smile, "Of course if you didn't want it, I wouldn't be doing it." _How much have you thought about 'getting sugar', I wonder?_

"Wanting it isn't the issue," Jubileena said as she wrapped her arm around his waist, "I just don't know if I'm ready for **that** kind of 'sugar' yet." _Why are we still using this analogy?_ She closed her eyes briefly. _I can't believe I'm going to say this. _"A part of me was hoping you would try something when you stayed over before.. You're a real gentleman though, aren't you?" _I never would have thought that I would want a boyfriend, let alone think about these sorts of things._

"Which part of you?" Garret asked teasingly. _I wonder if I'm I being unfair right now.._

"I think you know which part," Jubileena said with an embarrassed laugh, "You must be getting addicted to 'sugar' yourself though.." _You're pushing kind of far, you know? Not that I mind so much. It can only get put off for so long before I let myself go wild.__  
_

"Maybe a little," Garret said with a chuckle, "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" _I know I'm pushing the subject.._

"Possibly?" Jubileena said, "But you can try making me comfortable. N- I mean.." She sighed. "I'm still not ready for **that**, but I'd like to get used to the idea of us being together like that. Yesterday was like the most time we spent alone and you were like two feet away the whole time." _I said I don't like being alone anymore, didn't I? I tell you all this stuff for a reason.  
_

"So what you're saying is..?" Garret asked hesitantly, "Can you fill in the blank for me?" _I'd fill it myself, but I rather not in case she means something different, no matter how slight the difference could be. Although I guess it could really only mean one thing, right? She doesn't want to fork, but she does want to spoon._

"Look, do you want to stay here?" Jubileena asked with an annoyed smile, "Or would you rather sleep around a bunch of sweaty dudes in armor?" _I'm making you a good deal, you know? A **really** good deal._

"Is that **really** okay?" Garret asked with a smile, "You know I'd jump on that." _Sarge won't let me live it down, but I don't care.._

"Why are you asking if it's okay?" Jubileena asked while rolling her eyes, "I just told you what I'd been keeping to myself for a few days now. Do you want to live here with me or not?" _This morning was fun. Even the part where I left the bathroom wearing only a towel because I forgot spare clothes.. I should probably be more careful about that though._

"Yes," Garret beamed, "But you know, if you don't want me to be two feet away.." _How close do you want me to be?_

"Oh, shut up," Jubileena said with an annoyed chuckle, "You know what I'm saying. Don't make me spell it out." _If I have to spell it out, I have to question your assertiveness. Really, how many hints do I have to drop? Maybe I really did mean to bring this subject up in the first place. Thanks Brain, you actually helped out for once._ "And have you ever considered pajamas? I can't imagine sleeping in blue jeans all the time." _Sure, it'd work in a pinch. But I haven't worn jeans in.. well, technically ever. That's an idea._

"I'll get some eventually.. Pajamas, I mean," Garret said happily as he wrapped his arm around her waist. _I guess I'm allowed to touch then, hmm? I'd been careful about it all day._

"You're pushing it," Jubileena said with an embarrassed chuckle, "But let's just go, alright? I haven't had sugar all day." _That I can recall, at least. Lots of salty stuff though. I'm glad I don't have to worry about salt intake._

"Lead the way," Garret said eagerly as the two went to her room. _You're making me burn up, you know. I think it's you who is 'doing it' to me here._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Starting to wrap up this day, finally. I figured I would add in a little Zombie, why not?

I was laying the hints down here and there that Jubileena was like this. I hope it doesn't seem out of nowhere :p.

Also, my computer is all set up with a new power supply! It's working great so far, so wish me luck.


	77. Day 5's End - Taffyta's Reason

Charley sighed as he, Jet and Crumbelina arrived at their home and went inside. He had just finished eating another ice cream. _That didn't help at all.. Well, that's a lie, it helped a lot, but I'd have preferred if it didn't help. _"I nearly messed up big time.." he mumbled. _Which approach would have truly been better? Jet's or mine?_

"As long as you realize that, it's fine," Jet said softly, "At least they're still your friends, right?" _I'm glad they're giving him another chance._

"I still feel bad about it," Charley said, "I just wish I had done it better.." _Would they have still listened to me if I was up front about it? 'Going Turbo' is a big deal. A __**really**__ big deal. I didn't even hurt anyone really except Jet, did I? Well I did try to kill him and his friends though.. __Does that make me better or worse than Jet was since he just went along with Set and unintentionally helped bring down 4 games, nearly 7.. I was better, right? All I did was in one game, and really only with-_

"Not a day goes by that I don't wish the same," Jet said, "We just have to live with what we did and do better **now**." _I don't really think I need to lecture him about this though, he clearly understands. __Of course I might have never met Crumbelina if I hadn't done all that. I can't believe how selfish I am for still being kind of happy I did it._

"It'll be alright," Crumbelina said, "So what do you think we should do about Gloyd and Swizzle? Since Minty Zaki and Snowanna don't want to do anything personally. At least not yet." _I don't think we should let it be. Depending on their reasoning I might have to plant my boots up their rears._

"Someone is going to have to follow them to find out where they go after the races at least," Charley said tiredly. _Forgot what I was thinking now._ "I'm gonna go to bed, later.." _I'd better get out their way. I need to think about what I'm going to do from now on anyways._

"Goodnight," Jet said.

"Sweet dreams," Crumbelina said as Charley went to his room. She and Jet slowly wandered to theirs shortly after.

"Well today was rather uneventful," Jet said happily, "I mean, with the exception of the whole thing with Minty Zaki and Snowanna." _There weren't any attacks on my life or anything. A big improvement._

"I was about to correct you, yeah," Crumbelina said with a laugh as she took her hat off and inspected herself in the full body mirror near the dresser. _When did I get a piece of dirt on my chin? Get off, you._ She gently wiped her chin.

Jet got up and walked over to her, putting his arms around her hips and whispered, "I hate to say this.." He nuzzled the side of her neck lovingly. "But I think we should probably wait a while before **doing** **it** again. The walls are probably not so thick." _That doesn't mean we can't do this sort of thing though, right? As long as it's something that doesn't make either of us raise our voices._

"I know," Crumbelina whispered with a chuckle as she raised an arm backward to put her hand on the side of his head, "I agree. We'll find a chance eventually though, I'm sure." _I'm glad I didn't have to tell him that. We should have come to that conclusion before we even did it yesterday._

Jet chuckled and asked in a whisper, "You think we should get King Candy to help us out? Soundproof the walls," _I can about imagine how awkward a conversation like __**that**__ would turn out. But I'm baffled as to how else we can manage __it__ w__hile__ a child __is __sleeping one room over. __We don't need him to__ have his ear against the wall __wondering just what's going on__._

"I hope you're kidding," Crumbelina whispered with a laugh as she broke away so that she could face him. _I know __**I **__won't talk to him about it. __Should we really even be talking about this right now? Not that I mind. It's Charley __**I'm**__ worried about._

"What other option do we have other than coming home earlier?" Jet asked with a joking whisper, "It's not like King Candy hasn't done that sort of thing in his youth, right? He might even have a kid we don't know about." _Okay, well that's kind of doubtful since none have been mentioned besides Vannie._

"I doubt it," Crumbelina said, "But if you want to ask him, that's on you." _I won't touch that subject around the king. That'd be __**so**__ embarrassing on a multitude of levels._

"I **will**," Jet said with a chuckle, "..I'm glad we were able to patch things up with Minty Zaki and Snowanna though. I was expecting it to be harder for some reason." _The reason behind the hate was unexpected though. Taffyta and her matchmaker tendencies.. So far aside from them she's had a good track record though. Maybe they can work things out. Especially since the developers went through the trouble of giving them backstories like that._

"Me too," Crumbelina said, "I'm glad they don't hate me. Especially not for something as silly as being someone else's friend." _I can understand them getting mad at Taffyta though, love is a serious subject, especially for us Sugar Rushers. Rushans? Rushians? I think Rushers sounds best.._

"I think we'll need to gather information on them first," Jet said, "Gloyd and Swizzle, I mean. Things like where they go after the races and stuff. I could make nice with them and find out as much as I can before we try to play matchmaker. Although the little you was right about there being lots of guys out there.." _I'm glad the dev__elopers didn't set you up with someone.. That's me being selfish again, but look how happy you are. I must be doing __**something**__ right with my new life._

"It feels weird saying that," Crumbelina said with a laugh, "So awkward having a younger version of yourself. You're lucky you don't have to worry about that personally."

"Well I do sort of have to wonder how to refer to her and the other little racers sometimes," Jet said with a laugh as he grabbed a set of deep blue pinstriped pajamas from the dresser and began getting changed. _Better than sleeping in my racing outfit again. __Although that wasn't the case __**last**__ time._

"Tomorrow we should go to my mom's house and get some stuff.." Crumbelina said, her eyes were glued to Jet as he changed, "I haven't told her I've moved in with you yet either.." _We should have done that today before coming home._

"I hope she doesn't mind," Jet said, "I mean.. She's nice, but I'm not sure what kind of person she is exactly since I haven't spoken with her much." _I wonder.._ "How much does she know about me?" _I don't think she knows I got games unplugged. Not with how nice she's been._

"Well she knows I'm going out with you," Crumbelina said, "I may have glossed over everything else.. I didn't want to make her worry." _I know it's not what you would have done.. I'm glad you didn't bring it up when you first met her._

"Tut tut," Jet said with a chuckle, "But I guess that makes sense, considering how blasé she was about us sleeping in the same room a few days ago. And she hasn't tried reporting you missing, I suppose."

"Well she does still watch the races from home," Crumbelina said, "It's what she's programmed to do anyways." _Except now she can do whatever else she wants. I wonder if she's been to the restaurant since getting better.._

"You think she'll freak out when she finds out?" Jet asked, "We should tell her sooner rather than later, you know. It will only make it that much worse when she finds out if we keep it a secret."

"I don't want her to disapprove of you though.." Crumbelina said, "I get enough of that out of my counterpart from Sugar Rush." _It'd break my heart if Mom would hate you too. Especially after __the good you've__ done since becoming part of __our __game._

"It can't be avoided," Jet said as he tossed his racing outfit into a nearby basket, "She'll eventually get used to the idea, even if she may still not like or trust me, at least for a while." _I'm still holding out hope for some miracle that I can pull off._ "Although she was rather excited for us to get together, wasn't she?" _Practically forcing us to sleep in the same room when I first met her._

"She probably never expected me to get a boyfriend," Crumbelina whispered out of embarrassment, "You saw how high my counterpart's standards are." _Well.. __I guess __compared to everyone else, __your__ past is on par with a serial killer's __unwilling __accomplice, __but I probably still had much higher standards as a kid__._

"If you want to call it that," Jet said softly with a chuckle as he slid into their bed, "You coming?" _I guess you don't really have anything to change into though. Ooh.. _He whispered, "Oh, if you'd prefer, you can wear one of my spare sets of pajamas." _I can't tell you how __**that'd**__ make me feel._

"Yeah.." Crumbelina said shyly with a smile as she took him up on his offer. She got changed and joined him, easily melting into his waiting arms. _Hopefully soon I can do more than just join you. Last night was heaven._

"Goodnight," Jet said softly, planting a few tender kisses on her forehead. _Although bare legs would have been better. I need to stop thinking about it and get some sleep already._

"Goodnight," Crumbelina said with a soft chuckle, shifting herself ever so slightly to get as close to Jet as she possibly could. _I wonder how Adrenaline Rush will shake things up.._

* * *

Rancis drove Taffyta home. Normally she would be the one to drive, though she was out of it ever since making up with Minty Zaki. Once inside, he opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Taffyta.

"Sorry.." Taffyta said somberly. She sighed, wiped her eyes, and sniffled, "I hate getting emotional like this." _It just hurts.._

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rancis asked as he rubbed her back lovingly, "That's what I'm here for.." _Is it really about Minty Zaki?_

"I don't think it'll do any good.." Taffyta said, "But it might." She sniffled again and ran over to the kitchen counter to grab a napkin and blow her nose. _Yuck._

"So what is it?" Rancis asked softly as he slowly walked over to her, draping his arm around her back and onto her shoulder.

"It's just all this talk about our backstories today," Taffyta said, "It got me thinking about mine, and the more I think about it.." She sighed as her freshly regenerated makeup started running again as she cried. "My parents don't even exist, Rancis.." She frustratedly gestured with her arms. "Dad works overseas and Mom is in a perpetual state of visiting him. There's no place for them here in this game. They're practically **dead**." _I'll never see them again. Sure, the game Adrenaline Rush is coming in a few weeks, but it's not the same. They might __**really**__ be dead in that game as far as I know. It could be 20 years in the future for all I know. I doubt __**any**__ of us will even be in it. Maybe a few references or something._

"W-well.." Rancis said quickly and with gentle purpose, "Hold out hope, alright? Adrenaline Rush might have them. Our games will end up being released within the span of a month, right? That **can't** just be a coincidence. It **can't** be, Taffyta.." _I should have known it would be about her parents. They're never around to begin with except for every now and then when her mom comes back from visiting her dad and when she's not handling Taffy's business matters.._

"Hope.." Taffyta said numbly, "I've been hoping for a **long** time that they would come home and just stay put.." _All __**that's**__ ever been met with is __more __heartache. If it weren't for you, where would I be? I'd probably still be like the cold-hearted brat I used to be __back __before we started racing.. Wearing makeup, trying to grow up faster so I could go with Mom on her trips.. I was so stupid.._

"It.." Rancis said with a sigh. He blinked hard, his eyes stinging from the tears threatening to come out. "It will be different this time, alright? They're **not** dead. They can't be. If they were, it would be there in our backstories, painfully spelled out for us.." He hugged her tightly, her arms longingly wrapped around his back, begging for him to stay close. _I'm not going anywhere, __Taffyta__. I never have, I never will._

Taffyta sniffled again. "Thank you.." she said, her voice trembled. _I don't know how I'd manage without you.._

"I'm not going anywhere, alright?" Rancis said as tears streamed down his cheeks, "I know it's hard. I miss them too and they're not even my parents." _Yet._ "But I'll **always** be with you. There's **nothing** can change that." _Please, cheer up. I hate to see you cry, you got me started now.._

"I know," Taffyta said with a somber smile as she rested her head against his chest, "That's why I love you so much.. **Please**, never change, Rancis.." _You're the only one who can charge these batteries._

"Never," Rancis said softly as he kissed the top of her head, "It's hard to improve on perfection," he joked lovingly, "Any change would be for the worse."

"Oh, stop it," Taffyta said with a chuckle. She breathed deeply as she reluctantly broke herself free. "It's getting late.. We should go to bed or we'll be at a serious disadvantage tomorrow." _I'm not about to cut them any slack on the track just because we made nice today._

"Yeah," Rancis said with a chuckle as he wiped his eyes and followed her to their room, "We can't have that."

* * *

**Author's Note:** That's the reason Taffyta hates talking about backstories. I've dropped a few hints about this already though, so I'm sure some of you had it figured out already.


	78. Day 5's End - Different Kind of Sugar

"That really burns my cake!" Minty said frustratedly as she and Leon entered her home, "And my cake rarely gets burned!" _I don't care if it's a stupid analogy! _"I can't believe that Gloyd and Swizzle would have just laughed at them and ran off and not apologize or even **talk** to them for 10 years. **15** years in the case of Minty Zaki and Snowanna from Sugar Rush!" **Unacceptable**_._

"W-well," Leon said, "I don't suppose they don't remember? Like Taffyta didn't remember.." _Why am I defending them? Have I lost my mind?_

"I **doubt** it!" Minty said frustratedly as she practically stormed into the kitchen. It wasn't an entirely separate room from the living room. There was no wall between them. She pulled out a gallon of milk from the refrigerator and poured some into a clear glass, "Taffyta's crime, if you want to call it that, was **way** smaller in comparison." She poured a large amount of chocolate syrup into the glass and mixed it with the milk, spilling a few drops of milk as she did so. "She was just being her casual 'So are you guys dating?', self. But the boys.. They made the conscious effort to laugh at them and avoid them for 10 and 15 **years**. You don't **do** that without having it in your backstory. They **know** what they did!" She gulped down the chocolate milk and turned to face him. _I need more sugar.._ "I think we need to bring out the big guns on this. Let's scare the pants off of them before even **thinking** about playing matchmaker. We gotta plan this out, but I'm no good at that. Urgh!" _Why can't I be smarter when it comes to things like this?_

"Please breathe.." Leon said sincerely, "I get it, we'll do something about it.. 'Course I'm not exactly the best at planning either.." _Sarge is the one always making the plans and telling us what to do.._

"Well Jet's not so bad at it, probably," Minty said with a sigh, "Actually, he probably is.. Jubileena and I caught him pretty easy the other day." _You were there. You saw it. Come to think of it you were flirting with me back then, weren't you? It makes sense, now that I think about it.._

"I have someone in mind," Leon said as he sat down on the couch, "It'd be awkward to ask her help though, to say the least.."_Sarge isn't even involved in this. But then again she does like to knock sense into idiots._

"Well I say if she can help, then ask her," Minty said as she plopped down beside him, "Who is she anyways?" _Hmm.. I guess it's probably Tamora, right? I think she'd be a big help. She can be very intimidating. _Leon opened his mouth to answer but was cut off. "Nevermind, I got it.." She breathed deeply. _There, I'm breathing._

"We'll have it easy if Sarge decides to help," Leon said confidently as he put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her into himself slightly, "It's rare for anything she comes up with to end badly." _Of course sometimes events just fall into place around what she comes up with. We should also try to come up with a Plan B in case she doesn't want to help. It's probably best not to rush into this.._

Minty breathed deeply again and said, "I sure hope she decides to help. I **hate** seeing people upset.." _Taffyta was pretty upset about it too. I want to cheer her up too, though I guess Rancis is probably already taking care of it. He's such a sweetheart. I'm glad Taffyta has someone so reliable. I shouldn't have stopped hanging out with her in the first place, I should have dragged Jubileena along. No.. It's not my fault what happened. I only got plugged in a few days ago after all._

"I'll find a way to get her to help," Leon said, "It's not like we ask her for favors often." _When was the last time? Aside from having our new outfits made part of our characters.._ "Besides, she's been warming up to people more lately." _She doesn't say it, but she has a soft spot for Sugar Rush in general. Which is odd because she doesn't like sweets.. She doesn't even put sugar in her coffee.. Who _**does**_ that?_

"Good!" Minty said as she allowed herself to relax for the first time since getting home. She somewhat playfully added, "I need to get some sugar otherwise I'm gonna go nuts.." She got up and went into the kitchen again, then pulled out a small tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream. _Hmm.._ "You want some too?" _I suppose I should share. It's not polite to eat in front of people._

"You going to get enough sugar if you share?" Leon asked jokingly. _I guess they really do need their sugar?_

"Well there's not just the one kind of sugar," Minty said with a smile, "I'll manage somehow. So you **do** want some then, I'll get some bowls." _jump into your racing car.. I'll worry about the thing with Gloyd and Swizzle later. I can't let it keep me down._ "And don't you gulp it down like the tea I gave you the other day. Did you even taste it then?"

"I tasted it," Leon said with a chuckle, "I just had to hurry back at the time, that's all. I don't guess I have to **anymore** though? If you'd like me to stay here every day, I mean.." _It went well two days in a row, so why not, right?_

"Like move in?" Minty asked with a smile as she finished preparing their ice cream, "I'd.. I'd like that, yeah." _It's better than staying alone, and he's like a big teddy bear, but better. Hmm.. I think I thought that before too.. Did I? Or is that just deja vu?_ "It's better than me constantly telling you that you can stay." She giggled. _I say constantly, but it was two days in a row until now._

"Sweet," Leon said with a warm smile as he accepted a spoon and bowl of ice cream, "I was hoping you'd say that. Or at least something to that effect." _It sure beats sleeping in the barracks, that's for sure. Or sometimes not bothering to sleep at all. Talk about a headache afterwards.._

Minty happily sat down beside him again as they ate their ice cream and gradually let the thought of Gloyd and Swizzle fade from their minds.

"So when you say **other** kinds of sugar.." Leon said wryly as Minty grabbed the bowls to put them in the dishwasher, "I'm guessing you don't mean high fructose corn syrup and the like.."

"Eww, no!" Minty said with a laugh, "It's.. You know. I shouldn't have to explain it. Doesn't everyone just **know** what it means?" _I think that at least one of the developers has a perverted mind though.. Probably the same one that thought it was a good idea to call me Candlehead._

"I know," Leon said with a chuckle, "I'm just picking with you." _Nothing wrong with a bit of playful teasing._

"Then let's get on it, soldier," Minty said teasingly, "I need my sugar, you know?" _I wonder if I'm the only one programmed like this.. I'd be best off not asking them. _She giggled and ran to her room with Leon in hot pursuit. _Should I say this is our house now? Oh well, doesn't matter._

* * *

"I'm fine, okay?" Vanellope said as she gently slapped her cheeks with her hands and glitched onto the floor of Ralph's room, "See?" She was still wearing the sized down copy of Ralph's outfit, mostly because she had forgotten she was even wearing it. _I have to get over it. I've got better parents now anyways, right? Who doesn't watch where they're going when driving? What a moron._ She sniffled.

"Alright, if you say so," Ralph said softly as he sat on his bed, "These beds are huge.." _Changing the subject. That might help her get her mind off of it.._

"Uh-oh, I'm godda go blow my dose right quick," Vanellope said as she glitched out of the room. _Don't drip, don't drip. Gross!_

"She's strong," Ralph said sincerely, "I'm sure they must have been wonderful people, your parents.." _I could practically see it as if it were really happening. It's not pretty.._

"They were," Vannie said gently as she sat down next to Ralph and leaned into him, "I miss them a lot.." _Even if the whole thing doesn't quite make sense the way it happened._

"At least you've got King Candy," Ralph said softly, "Well, two of them, in fact." _I'm sure he would like it if you consider him your dad too._

Vannie laughed and said, "Yeah.. The one from Sugar Rush **could** have just come talk to me, instead of doing something as drastic as making a whole new person though. But still, I'm glad he chose to do that. Candice will be such a sweetheart. I can't wait to really meet her. And of course I've got such a sweetheart for a **boyfriend **too." She leaned her face closer to his. _Since we're alone right now, for as short a time as that may be. Or she _**could**_ be doing it on purpose, giving us time alone. It's hard to tell with her sometimes._

Ralph tensed up and chuckled before saying, "Y-yeah. Hey, Vanellope sure is taking a while blowing her nose.." _She could be back any second._

"Don't get so nervous, Ralphie," Vannie said teasingly, "Would it be the end of the world if she saw us kissing, I wonder?"

"That's a can of worms I'd rather not open," Ralph said nervously, "I get teased for something as harmless as being a wizard, you know?"_ It's really just something they tacked on as an after thought anyways. Nowhere in gameplay is it actually suggested I'm a wizard._

"It's all in good fun though," Vannie said with a chuckle before grumbling, "It's not easy for me to make all the advances, you know? I at least want a kiss, for crying out loud." _We could have kissed and gotten through with it by now if you hadn't complained instead._

"Is it that bad?" Ralph asked with a laugh. _Well I suppose a quick peck wouldn't hurt._

"Adoi!" Vannie said with an annoyed smile.

Ralph shrugged his right shoulder and kissed the side of her head. "Kinda hard when sitting down, you know." He cocked an eyebrow and looked over to the doorway. _There's no way I imagined that._ He quickly went over to the door and looked out into the hall, shifting his eyes around cautiously.

"Problems?" Vannie asked wryly, "You're paranoid. She's probably just getting something to drink or changing into pajamas."

"If she wanted pajamas she would just have **me** provide them," Ralph said as he turned to look at her. _She would find any reason to make me do magic tricks._

"Ralph," Vannie said with a sigh, "If she's doing it on purpose you might as well get it over with anyway, right? Right?" _This will be what? The fourth time we've ever kissed? Well third really, that head kiss doesn't count. We've been dating like 5 whole days now and we hardly even kissed. Although today was a vast improvement if I do say so myself._

Vanellope came into the room humming. She was back in her usual outfit and carefully held the small Ralph-fit in her arms. She had spent a while folding it. _Saving this for later. I was worried it'd disappear._ She hopped and placed it on the dresser and said, "There!" _I need a box to stand on or something._

"You like it, huh?" Vannie said teasingly. _I just tossed 'mine' into the laundry. I don't expect to wear it any time soon._

"You kidding me?" Vanellope asked with a laugh, "I'm gonna use that to its maximum potential eventually."

Ralph stood there in confusion. _Was I just imagining it then? I could have sworn I heard her little __footsteps before.._

"So we're sleeping in here again, right?" Vanellope asked teasingly, "You're not gonna argue again are you, Ralph?"

"I'm done arguing.." Ralph said while rolling his eyes, "Since I don't have to worry about hurting anyone, what's the point?" _And since you haven't been pranking me in my sleep either. Or are they just trying to lull me into a false sense of security while they plan something big?_

"Good," Vanellope said in a satisfied tone as she cross her arms, "Now provide for me a set of jammies, please."

"I told you," Ralph said to Vannie as he hugged Vanellope and imagined the teal pajamas the two girls wore previously. He tapped his forehead, and with a poof of magic sparkles, she was changed. _I think I could have toned the sparkles down some._

"Why magic sparkles?" Vanellope asked with a laugh. _Not quite as elaborate as when my game was reset back to factory standards, but still._

"Because magic," Ralph said while rolling his eyes, "I figured you would be used to them by now." _I still need to do that candy cane thing present._ "So about that present for Candice.. What exactly **would** that look like?"

"I was thinking something kind of like a painting," Vannie said modestly, "You know. With the frame and everything, but make it sort of pop out slightly, instead of being different colors. It's just the first thing that came to mind.."

"That's going to be incredibly difficult for me to do.." Ralph said with a sigh, "I've never even done that sort of thing before." _I don't even know if I can __**ever**__ manage that._

"Just give yourself experience then," Vanellope said with a laugh. _It'd just be one line of text, right? It's crazy that that's what we amount to, lines of text and moving pictures.._

"That'd be cheating," Ralph said seriously, "It's cheating enough that I got all these abilities, you know? Even if they're mostly just for the sake of convenience."

"Who started it?" Vanellope asked teasingly, "But go ahead and do it the hard way." She laughed, "I'll be watching."

King Candy stopped at the open door and yawned. "You three are still up?" he asked, blinking slowly a few times. His crown was put away and he was wearing a bright salmon striped bath robe and slippers.

"We're going to bed soon, Dad," Vannie said with a laugh.

"Alright," King Candy said, not all together convinced, "I can set you up with a room to yourself if you'd like, Vanellope." _You'll need to learn to sleep in a bed to yourself eventually._

"I'm good," Vanellope said, "Maybe some **other** time. I'll let ya know." _You're _**not**_ helping, KC._

"Right, just let me know then," King Candy said with a sigh. _I won't push it, especially not after everything she's been through, but she has to grow up slightly, even if she is a __chil__d. _"And I changed the photo's memory effect for you, sweetie. There's a button on the back you have to press now." _As per Vanellope's suggestion.._

"Alright," Vannie said, "Thanks, Dad." _You can go to bed now.._

King Candy cocked an eyebrow and they said their goodnights.

"I thought he'd never leave," Vanellope said with a laugh as she hopped and turned off the light after closing the door. _He probably doesn't know she sleeps in the same bed as us yet. I probably should give them the bed to themselves at some point though. Eww, stop thinking about stuff like that, Brain!_ She glitched into bed with an exhausted sigh and snuggled up to Vannie before going to sleep. _Since Ralph has been getting all my hugs so far today.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright! So there's going to be one last chapter before Adrenaline Rush is plugged in. Just something to resolve the Gloyd and Swizzle thing since I can't see them waiting until after Adrenaline Rush comes out. It will be a result of all the implied planning they went through, going straight to the execution.

I **could** have put off Adrenaline Rush, as pretty much every day is an adventure when you consider the cast. But I figured that it's best to let a bit of time pass and just reference things they've done as needed.

I don't know if you've noticed, but the Sugar Rush (1 and 2) girls refer to their brains as Brain. It's a quirk their developer has that was passed onto them.. Just in case you noticed and were wondering.

By the way, in case you're frustrated with Vanellope always coming between Ralph and Vannie at the end of each day.. It changes once Adrenaline Rush gets plugged in.


	79. Idiocy, and Jawbreaker

Six days passed. They were filled with fun, excitement and tears, but aside from that it was rather uneventful. Ralph, Vannie, Vanellope, Felix, and Calhoun, as well as Zombie, of course, spent those days with the two King Candys writing lots of fun memories for Candice. Some when she was younger, some when she was older. Zombie was ecstatic to hear she was such a huge fan of zombies. Calhoun was apprehensive at first, but quickly warmed to the idea once she read what was already done so far. Felix was intrigued at the idea of Ralph changing people's outfits as well as how he was going to make Candice's Christmas present from her memory. Ralph eventually broke down a candy tree and went to work on it, Felix stepping in to fix it closer to its original form every time Ralph got a detail wrong. Which was every time to this date. But he was getting better with each attempt, looking on the bright side.

Jet and the others enlisted the help of Calhoun and Felix to investigate just what exactly Gloyd and Swizzle do with the rest of their time. Jet befriended the older pair easily enough, of course they were wary at first, but all the same it had been nearly two weeks since he became a member of their game and nothing bad happened yet.

Charley befriended the younger pair just as easily, if not more so, as it was Ralph who had introduced them to each other. So while they were freaked out initially due to the fact that he had taken over a game at one point, they were more than willing to accept him since Ralph gave the all clear. That there were only three male racers in all of Sugar Rush helped him in that regard as well, especially since one of which spent all his time with 'the girls'. Adding onto that, there wasn't exactly a surplus of boys their age to hang out with out in the other arcade games.

* * *

"Alright ladies. Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once," Calhoun barked as sternly as she could muster. She held her rifle up in both hands, purely for visual effect. They had waited at the track of Sugar Rush 2 just after the arcade had closed and their targets had left. "Now.. We've received word from Markowski that Jet, Malarkey and Orangeboar are en route to Burger Time. For now we wait. We don't need to make a scene out there. **This** is their game, their home. They'll be back, and **that's** when we strike. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Minty said intensely with a fist bump, along with Jubileena, Taffyta, Crumbelina, Minty Zaki, Snowanna, and Adorabeezle. _This is so exciting! It's like we're really in the middle of a war! So fitting! We're gonna get you, Gloyd and Swizzle! And it's gonna be __**sweet**__._

Rancis wasn't too happy to be included in that 'ladies' label, but didn't say anything unnecessary. _It's a soldier thing for her, probably. __I wish I was with Leon, __Felix,__ and Garret on surveillance duty.._

"Good," Calhoun said, her lips curling into a smirk, "Now since we don't actually know where they plan to go, I suggest we lie in wait at the entrances of Schweetz. They have to sleep **sometime**." _This is going to be a test of patience for these girls.. Oh yeah, there's a guy here too. Ah well._

* * *

In Sugar Rush, Kohut was briefing the younger ladies. And Rancis.

"Alright soldiers," Kohut said with dignified confidence, "I'm Corporal Nathaniel Kohut. You may not know me, but in Hero's Duty, I'm Sergeant Calhoun's second in command. You're in good hands."

"Yyyyep!" Vanellope said with a laugh as she jumped. _This'll be fun. It's about time I give Ralph and Vannie their alone time __too. It's all gross to me, but they need it apparently__. It's plain as day that I'm in the way. How much time alone to give them though? She's been wrinkling her nose a lot lately but I couldn't find a good enough excuse to leave. And with all the memory coding we've been taking part in.. I__'d have to skip days seeing Ralph__.. __But that's not going to happen. T__h__ere has to be something I __**can**__ do.._

Kohut straightened his back further than it already was, as if it were compulsory, and said, "Spears gave word not long ago that Charley, Gloyd, and Swizzle are headed to the Taffy Swamp to swing on the Laffy Taffy like jungle vines." He chuckled. _Never thought I'd hear myself say something like that. _"After that they plan to get a snack at Cafe DiCaramello. **That** is when we strike. They're likely to run at the first sign of pursuit so we are to converge at that location from all sides."

Little Taffyta raised her hand excitedly.

"Yes, Taffyta?" Kohut asked warmly.

"Is it okay if we destroy their karts?" little Taffyta asked with a smirk, "They'll just regenerate at the starting line later when the first quarter alert hits." _Since they're on the roster today. Otherwise they'd go to the kart lot._

"We should **probably** avoid that," Kohut said with a laugh, "But I like your style."

Little Rancis nudged little Taffyta's elbow jokingly. _Like he'd say yes to that._

* * *

"I gotta hand it to you Jet," Swizzle said while chewing a bite of his burger and shoving a french fry in for good measure, "You know some good places out here. Sure beats microwave food." He laughed through his nose and shook his head.

"Yeah," Gloyd said with a laugh, "I thought you were bad news from the get-go, what with you know.. But you're a cool guy, even if you **do** have a girlfriend and kid at your age." _I bet having a kid about half your character's age is awkward. He'd be like 10 when the kid was born.._

"You ought to try it," Jet said knowingly, "Maybe not so much having a kid, if that's not your thing, you'd have to adopt one for that anyways. But having a girlfriend is one of the things in life that keeps me going. It's hard to explain."

"Yeah, don't go getting sappy on us," Swizzle said after swallowing the bite he had been chewing that until then was growing more and more as he shoved fries into the mix.

"Alright," Jet said with a shrug, "I mean it though. You don't know what you're missing out on." _Calhoun, you know I'm no good a subtly or deception.. I guess I really __**am**__ the only one for the job though. It's not your fault._

"You thee, the thing ivs," Gloyd said before swallowing and taking a sip of his drink, "Guh.. I actually do have a girl in mind, but she's a bit.. How do I say it? Scary.." He laughed while shaking his head. "She's always chasing after us with this look on her face that says she's gonna kill me if she catches up to us." _Aside from the fear, it's also a little exciting. I just wish she'd chill out._

"Come on, you didn't have to say that," Swizzle said, "He's going to think we're wusses. Alright look, the truth is we **may** have ticked some girls off as kids, back when we first started racing.. What do you expect? What would you have done if you were 9 years old and some girl tells you that this other girl you don't even know likes you?" _I'll admit I could have reacted better, but I thought it was a joke._

"At first we thought it was just Taffyta joking around, picking on us," Gloyd said while rolling his eyes, "But they must have meant it because they've been after our lives ever since.. It's not even our fault, you know? Man, what a stupid backstory to give us. It's like the developers just want us to suffer our entire existence." He laughed frustratedly.

"What if you're mistaken though?" Jet asked, "Maybe they only **seem** like they want to kill you. They **could** just want to talk." _In fact I already know this. These guys are kind of on the slow side, aren't they? Even if they __**did**__ kill you, you'd regenerate, you know?_

"I'm not about to take that risk," Swizzle said defensively, "We'd regenerate, sure, but I've gotten scrapes before and you know, I imagine that actually **dying** would hurt a hell of a lot more." _And suppose they want to drag it out. Death of a thousand cuts style.._

"No kidding there," Gloyd said with a laugh, "I appreciate you trying to help us out and all, but sometimes life just doesn't go the way you want it to."

* * *

Charley effortlessly swung from Laffy Taffy vine to Laffy Taffy vine. _It's just like the burning ropes from Dragon's Lair, except less dangerous. That fire __**really**__ burned, and I've got Nesquik Sand to land in just in case I miss one._

"You're way too good at this," little Swizzle said with a laugh.

"So what's this Dragon's Lair game like?" little Gloyd asked curiously, "If you don't mind us asking.."

"In a word? Deadly.." Charley said seriously as he held onto a disappointed Laffy Taffy vine, wrapping his legs around it for support, "There's plenty of times I died in there, but at least it's instant. I had to do **something**, you know? Since I had made myself part of the game behind the scenes and there wasn't really anything else to do." _I__'m just glad there's that shortcut to the treasure room, otherwise I might have game overed for real making myself, Han, and Leia part of the game again when Sugar Rush 2 got plugged in. I wonder how they're doing. And if they're still fused with the other versions of themselves.. I should probably avoid them if I do see them._

"Sounds rough," little Swizzle said, "I'm glad you learned your lesson though. I'm surprised **anyone** can come back after going Turbo, let alone two." _Jet seems like someone I should be more wary of, even though Ralph said he's good now. 7 games is a lot more than just 1. And 4 got unplugged, whether he wanted it to happen or not._

"We're sorry to hear about your parents, dude," little Gloyd said, "I mean, I know we already said that, but I can't imagine living without my parents.."

"Well I really only loved my mom anyways," Charley said, "Well, I mean, I **did** love Dad, but he was just sort of there, you know? He was a Bad Guy, like Ralph, so we didn't get along at all.. He at least cared enough to have the other chefs make sure I got out of the game, even though we didn't want anything to do with each other." _Though I do miss them now. I wonder if they'd want to have a food fight sometime once their restaurant is finished. What's __**taking**__ that so long?_

"So wait," little Swizzle said confusedly, "So **you** were the Good Guy?" _Throwing food in a restaurant? That's awesome.._

"I'm just the innocent kid who wants ice cream," Charley said while rolling his eyes playfully, "It doesn't make sense, I know. Ralph's land was **stolen** from him and **he's** the Bad Guy in his game."

"Why'd your parents stay behind though?" little Gloyd asked sincerely, "I don't mean to stay on this subject, it's just bothering me why they wouldn't want to leave when their game was getting unplugged." _That's on par with stepping out into the wall outlet unprotected. __Well okay, the latter is probably a lot worse.._

"Well my mom wasn't able to leave the game since she was a glitch.." Charley said sadly, "I still don't know all the reasons behind it. But basically she couldn't leave the game. Dad didn't want her to die alone, and like I said before, we didn't get along. Especially not after Jet's brother's shenanigans while playing as me. Prankster doesn't even cover it." He sighed. "But Jet's pretty cool, even if he was an accomplice in all that." _He's even friends with the older versions of you. Oh right, I'm supposed to ask about it._

"Well I'm glad all that's over," little Swizzle said with a nervous laugh, "It's a relief to know Jet's brother won't be taking over anymore games.." _I still think Jet could have tried harder to stop him._

"So what's up with Minty Zaki and Snowanna looking at you all the time?" Charley asked while cocking an eyebrow.

"Y-you noticed that, huh?" little Gloyd asked nervously, "It's a long story.."

* * *

A long while later Jet, Gloyd and Swizzle entered Sugar Rush 2 and headed to the neighborhood where the girls (and Rancis) were lying in wait, ready to surround them.

"It feels like we're being watched," Gloyd said while looking around as they slowly cruised along the empty road. Swizzle was driving as Jet and Gloyd sat in the back.

"This is Fix-It," Felix whispered into his radio, courtesy of Calhoun, his voice echoed, "Target spotted passing through Access Point A." He was hiding in a cleaned out trash can in an alleyway, his eyes peering out from under the lid.

"Copy that," Calhoun said, "Rendevous with Markowski and await further orders." _Though I'm willing to bed that won't be necessary._

"Roger," Felix said excitedly. _Jaminy.. We haven't done anything like this in ages! __Although I've just been in a trash can the whole time. Is that a __**dent**__? Poor guy, I'll fix you up good as new.._

Before long, Jet, Swizzle, and Gloyd were ensnared in a tight circle of karts and girls.

"I'm outtie!" Swizzle said as he made a dash to jump over Taffyta's kart, only to be frozen in the air by Jet, who used the Force.

Jet tried his best to be subtle about it, but he was beginning to sweat. _I need to practice using the Force more.. You'll appreciate this later, Swizzle. Maybe.._ Swizzle floated upside down back to the middle of their encircled kart as if he were being carried by one of his ankles, his hat falling off midway.

"Alright, so you got us," Gloyd said worriedly, "What are you going to do to us?" _This many girls in one area, snatching up men. What's going on? Minty Zaki and Snowanna are here, it has to be their doing.._

"That all depends," Minty Zaki said in an accusatory tone as she slowly inched towards him with her arms crossed, "If you had any last words right this moment," Gloyd and Swizzle flinched, "What would they be?"

* * *

"We're **sorry**, okay?" little Gloyd said sincerely, they were caught in a similar fashion to their counterparts, minus the Force usage, "We thought Taffyta was joking back then and you looked like you were gonna kill us if you ever caught us.." _Laughing in a girl's face would surely incur the death penalty.._

"Kill you?" little Snowanna asked in utter disbelief while shaking her head and sighing, "What kind of **idiot** would think that?"

"This guy," little Swizzle said embarrassedly while raising his hand slowly. _You should see your faces when you're chasing after us. And right now, even.._

"If.. If you're not going to kill us," little Gloyd said, "Then why all this? Why do you keep chasing after us?"

"We wanted to talk, duh!" little Minty Zaki said while rolling her eyes, "Do you have any idea how much you hurt us?"

* * *

"A lot.." Gloyd said apologetically, looking down at the ground before facing Minty Zaki, "We just thought it was one of Taffyta's bad jokes.." _It's why we didn't hang around with her either after that happened.._

"I do** not** make bad jokes," Taffyta said while crossing her arms. _These guys are just idiots.._

Jet nudged Swizzle's elbow lightly. _Tell her, come on.._

"We panicked after we saw how mad you got at us," Swizzle said nervously. _You **had** to be out for blood.._

"How did you expect us to react?" Gloyd asked, "We didn't know you back then and we were just 9 years old.."

"B-besides," Swizzle said, "We didn't **actually** laugh at you, that.. that was just our backstory, you know. We were plugged in the same time you were.." _Flimsy excuse. They'll never accept that._

"You could have still said you were **sorry**!" Minty said in an annoyed tone, "**Really**!" _How hard is it to apologize?_

* * *

Charley sighed and rolled his eyes then said, "Can't you just make up already? You told me you do like them, I already know they still like you, for whatever reason." _I'd like to have some ice cream sometime today.._

"Spill!" little Taffyta said, "And don't even **try** to make me out as the bad guy here, I thought I was doing you four a favor."

"Alright, fine. Yes, I do like you, Snowanna," little Swizzle said, taking a deep breath. _Today is just nuts. What's with all these people getting up in our business?_

"And **you**?" little Minty Zaki asked little Gloyd while cocking an eyebrow, here arms still crossed.

"Sort of?" little Gloyd said with a nervous smile, "We're still kids you know, we're not programmed for this sort of thing in the first place."

"Alright, I don't think we're needed here anymore," Vanellope said as intimidatingly as she could, "Break it up guys. Disperse, disperse!" She laughed. _I wonder how Ralph and Vannie are doing. And the KC's.._

* * *

"It sure is nice to be home!" Vannie said mischievously as she and Ralph leisurely walked inside the castle, "Vanellope is out playing, Dads are coding some more, the servants are servanting.." _I doubt **that's** a word._

"So basically, what you're saying **is**.." Ralph said with a smile as he narrowed his eyes and placed his hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose.

"**Is**~.." Vannie said with a smirk as she put her hands on her hips, "Finish the sentence. You can do it." _Stop wasting our alone time already you big dummy._

"I can't find the words," Ralph said jokingly as he walked up to her and wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her closer, "It's easier to just use sign language." He kissed her tenderly on the lips.

Vannie smiled and ran her fingers through Ralph's hair and said, "I don't think that's sign language, Ralphie." She chuckled and softly wrapped her hands around the back of his head, lowering it slowly down to her level once more, planting more tender kisses on his wide, grinning lips. _Why does he have to be __a full head__ taller than me?_

"You **know**.. A guy **could** get used to this," Ralph said teasingly.

"Only if we actually had time to do this more often," Vannie said with an annoyed smile, "Let's not waste time, okay?" _We can have more privacy in your room._ She pulled Ralph towards the stairs leading from the throne room to Ralph's and the other guest rooms.

Ralph laughed and quickened his pace, scooping her up into his arms in the process. "You're pretty slow for a racer," he said teasingly.

"You're pretty gentle for a wrecker," Vannie said teasingly.

"But **that's** a good thing," Ralph said wryly as he let her down in front of his door and opened it for her, "Ladies first."

"Thank you, Jeeves," Vannie said with a smile as she went inside and plopped down on the edge of his bed, "Such a relief.."

"What?" Ralph asked wryly.

"We're finally alone, **adoi**!" Vannie said, "I love Vanellope to bits. I **really** do, but I want to monopolize you at least **sometimes**. Otherwise we're little more than friends.." _I need __**more**__ than that._

"She'll grow out of it," Ralph said warmly, "This is still new to her, having me as a dad, and you kind of being a mom. Funny how that works." He shrugged. "But she'll wind down eventually once she's used to the idea."

"I'm sure she will," Vannie said with a smile, "She's a smart girl." _Too smart sometimes.._

"You know.." Ralph said with a chuckle, "I've been wondering for a while now.."

"What?" Vannie asked with a mischievous smile while crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

"What kind of shirt do you wear under your hoodie?" Ralph asked, his heart racing at the fact that he actually said it, "It must get hot in that thing sometimes, right?" _I can't believe I said it.._

"Oho!" Vannie said teasingly, "Someone's finally showing a bit of interest." _Let's not go too far too fast though. It's a slippery slope. Dad would have a cow if we actually went all the way so soon. He wasn't even happy when he finally found out I've been sleeping in his bed with him and Vanellope._

"Y-Well maybe just a **little**," Ralph said mischievously with a shrug, "You **do** realize I'm a man.. A beautiful, charming little imp like you comes into my life and you expect me to hold it back forever?" _I didn't even know what was missing in my life until I met you._

"Well, if you're so curious, I suppose there's no harm in showing you," Vannie said teasingly as she slowly pulled her hoodie off to reveal a teal tank top, "There. It's a little cold though." _I usually keep it on for a reason. I wonder if I should start wearing other clothes? Since Ralph has his outfit changing power.. _"You'll burn a hole through me if you keep staring like that." She laughed nervously. _Say something already, you wanted to see it.._

"Sorry," Ralph said with a nervous laugh, "I was concentrating on not tackling you."

"The inner struggles of the gentle giant come to light," Vannie said teasingly.

"You know it," Ralph said with an excited, shaky laugh.

"Well, we've got a lot of catching up to do," Vannie said anxiously as she stood up and quickly closed the distance between them, "We should get started before there are any more interruptions." _Who knows when we'll have time alone next?_

"Agreed," Ralph said warmly as he wrapped his arm around her back, resting his hand on her butt, "Alone time like this may be limited, but we can always make the most of it when we get it." He kissed her softly and deeply. _How long can we make this moment last?_ About an hour.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so I hope that will be enough to tide you over while waiting for what's to come :p. I'm going to be a **lot** more fair with Ralph and Vannie from now on, promise!


	80. Adrenaline Rush Plugged In

Eight more eventful, yet uneventful days passed. Ralph, just the day before, finally managed to finish Candice's present, although he managed the time **before** that as well, but Felix was a bit hasty with his hammer and ruined it. Felix nearly game overed via Ralph-rage, though Ralph luckily found a Niceland apartment to target instead.

Felix, out of guilt for ruining Ralph's work, took it upon himself to then alter his fixing ability to allow him to **undo** his fixes by hitting the target using the claw of his hammer. There was the usual banter in his code, but no new insight was gained, much to his chagrin. He was still glad to have finally taken a gander at it and confirm for himself that Ralph was his brother, though, not that he doubted Ralph for a second.

Jet had his awkward talk with King Candy about getting soundproofed walls. King Candy eventually agreed, although he said that Jet could have simply turned on some loud fans instead. Jet is still unable to look King Candy in the eye without laughing to himself about it. Crumbelina can't even bring herself to look King Candy in the eye at all.

Charley decided to hang out with whichever Sugar Rush racers weren't on the roster during arcade open hours and usually little Adorabeezle during off hours. She was still trying to get over how he had lied to her, but didn't let it show.

Ralph and Vannie managed to sneak some alone time each day before Sugar Rush's Random Roster Race, though Vanellope could tell something was up with how late they had been recently.

Calhoun reluctantly decided to keep wearing 'normal' clothes, still unable to find out who had been taking more and more photos of her, all of which in either silly or 'cute' circumstances. Random 'fans' would occasionally walk up to her and ask to take their picture with her as well, something she wasn't entirely fond of, but figured that it couldn't hurt her image any more than it already was.. From her perspective, at least.

The Minty Zakis and Snowannas still haven't finished talking things out with the Gloyds and Swizzles. To be blunt, the Gloyds and Swizzles are surprised they're still alive with the earfuls they've been getting. It's beyond all four of them why they even like their respective partners. The clearing of the air did wonders for their racing, however, as they began making it on the roster more often.

Leon, Minty, Garret, Jubileena, Taffyta, and Rancis went bowling a few times among other fun activities, often joined by Ralph, Vannie, Jet and Crumbelina. Ralph's bowling ball was custom-made from a jawbreaker, although he felt like it was cheating since he got a strike every time.. They let him get away with wearing no shoes, even as he traipsed to the pins for his ball after each turn. Taffyta wouldn't accept that she was bad at it and insisted that she just needed more practice. Although really, it was the anxiousness from the fact that Adrenaline Rush's appearance was growing closer by the day, and whether or not her parents where there.

* * *

It was finally time for the arrival of Adrenaline Rush. It was a **long** struggle for Litwak, making sure he didn't spoil himself on what exactly the game had in store for his arcade besides its basic premise, but he was certain that somehow it would be more than worth the wait due to Lindsey's constant vague dialogue while talking with him about it.

The arcade was closed, being a Monday. Litwak hated the idea of working on Mondays. It was his day to relax and catch up on actually playing the games in his arcade. He **still** hadn't beaten the story mode on any of the Sugar Rush 2 characters yet, a fact that grinded his gears, but he was determined to get them all eventually. But first..

There was a knock at the door of the arcade not even a half hour after Litwak himself had arrived.

Along with the usual seemingly mute TobiKomi delivery guy was a Japanese woman in her mid 60s. She was wearing a black pinstriped business suit.

"You must be the woman I spoke with on the phone," Litwak said with a warm smile, "I gather you're here to check on the others." _Making sure I'm not lying just to get the discounts. __**Very generous** discounts, I might add.. It's almost suspicious in itself.. I'm glad I have so many TobiKomi games..  
_

"Yes," she said with a laugh, "I'm Rio Inaba from TobiKomi.. I'll admit that I was **surprised** that you would have most of our games in just one arcade building. It is a shame your collection isn't complete.." _It's missing Turbo Time and X-treme E-Z Livin' 1. The latter of which is more understandable as he has the sequel. Still a shame.  
_

"Yes," Litwak said humbly, "I **did** at one point have Turbo Time as well, but somehow or another he found his way into another game.. This was 25 years ago or so." _I'll never forget that.. __Go ahead and call me cuckoo. Even I myself find it hard to believe what happened that day._

"That **is** quite odd, isn't it.." Rio said worriedly, "It's unbelievable, but you **aren't** the first to make that claim. About half of **those** reports were when another game came along.. It's almost as though he didn't like the competition, don't you think?" _Here too.._

"The thought **did** cross my mind," Litwak said with a sad chuckle, "I had to put it and RoadBlasters out to pasture. It was a sad day for this arcade.." _If only I could have somehow prevented it.._

"You know.. We **did** release an updated version of Turbo Time since then. If you're interested.." _A 15th anniversary edition. __Although nobody seems to want them due to the problems the previous one had.._

"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"

"Oh, is that your Fix-It Felix Jr.?!" Rio asked somewhat excitedly, walking over to it's console. She slowly and softly ran her fingers across the buttons. "This was one of our first games, you know?.. You've taken good care of it." _This place is almost a TobiKomi museum. At least for our **arcade** games.._

"FIX IT FELIX!"

"Yes," Litwak said proudly, "Old Ralph and Felix.. This game was one of the first games in this arcade.." His smile faded slightly. "In theory.. How much would this new Turbo Time cost? And I wouldn't have to worry about him 'game jumping' would I?" He chuckled. _Like that can really happen. Must have been some kind of bug.. It doesn't make sense __even then __though._

"I CAN FIX IT!"

"Oh I'm sure he'll behave this time," Rio said with a chuckle, "We can discuss the price once we get your new game set up. That's the part I've been waiting for." _This should set things right.. _"This place is a rarity though, so many of our games.." _I had to see it myself._

"There's just something about them.." Litwak said with a smile, "If you don't mind me asking.. The way you keep referring to the games.. Are you by any chance one of the programmers?" _Or do you have some other really deep connection with the company? You don't seem like any old representative.._

"Something like that," Rio said with a smile, "I suppose in a way you could say I'm their mother.." She let out a modest chuckle. "Let me reintroduce myself." She extended her hand for a handshake. "I'm Rio Inaba, the one who founded TobiKomi." Her smile faded slightly. _A__long with my late husband.._

"W-**Really**?!" Litwak asked with neatly contained excitement, "If I had known the founder of TobiKomi was coming.." He chuckled. _I'm glad I keep the place clean at least!_

"Bah!" Rio said dismissively, "I don't like getting special treatment. So where did you plan to hook this baby up?" She happily gestured over to the unimpressed delivery guy and the Adrenaline Rush console which was loaded onto an L-shaped handcart. _You'll do great __here__, my little babies._ Her phone said something in Japanese, which annoyed her and made her roll her eyes. "Don't mind it." _I would have turned it off if I knew he was going to bug me like that._

"Alright," Litwak said with a chuckle, "Well I was thinking of putting it over here." He walked over somewhat past Sugar Rush's console and gestured to an empty space. "I was thinking of moving BurgerTime around here as well, but I can't stand the thought of losing the highscores so Peter may well just stay put." _Something about unplugging games just puts me off even aside from that.._

"Highscores mean a lot to you.." Rio said with a knowing smile, "I know the feeling." _I used to be pretty good at Fix-It Felix Jr. in my heyday. And he knows their names by heart, doesn't he?_

"Ai desu ka?" the voice from her phone asked. Rio gave an annoyed chuckle and quickly moved to turn her phone off.

"Sorry," Rio said with an embarrassed laugh, "Well come on then." She happily waved the delivery guy over to roll in the new machine. He did as he was told and Adrenaline Rush was finally, **finally** plugged in. "You go ahead and play a game or something while we go discuss the possibility of sending Turbo Time over." She and Litwak walked into a back office to talk.

The delivery guy sighed and stretched. He cracked his knuckles and eyed the room before him. _If the company owner __**says**__ so.. Why's everyone so upbeat all the time? Give a man a break. And what's with the atmosphere here? Do none of them notice the subtle shifts in game demo patterns? And that phone of hers.. I wonder what it was saying.._ He sighed boredly._ What game to waste my time on then? I guess it might as well be a TobiKomi game. Hero's Duty.. $2? __**No way**__. Wreck-It Studios, what a joke. Why even make a separate company name to release it? You either made it or you didn't._ He walked around some more. _Sugar Rush 1 and 2 look way too girly. Hell, you know __**what**__? __**I'll**__ be first to play this new one._ He smirked and slid two quarters into the machine and played for a while. _Okay so this might be a __**little**__ fun, I guess.. It'd be better as a console game.  
_

A few moments later Rio and Litwak returned.

"I'll make a decision by tomorrow," Litwak said cautiously. _I'm still unsure about this whole thing.. Turbo Time was starting to lose its popularity the moment RoadBlasters got plugged in. But then again it was the **most** popular **until** RoadBlasters showed up. How well would it do now? Retro appeal? I'll admit I'm itching to find out what __they may have __changed about__ it too.._ "How long will you be in town?"

"Well, since we've finished Adrenaline Rush we're taking a bit of a break," Rio said, "So I'd say probably about a week?" _I think I'll come by during open hours to check things out. Maybe even play Fix-It Felix Jr. I'm sure they could use the company. _She chuckled.

With that, Rio and 'the delivery guy' left, and Litwak inserted his memory card into Sugar Rush 2. _Only 10 more tracks to go, Taffyta. Lindsey won't beat me in this one. The kid's sharp though, I'll give her that. I may give her one more day, and leave one track unfinished. _He chuckled. _I guess I'll save Vanellope for last, since that's what Lindsey is planning as well._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I did a **lot** of summarizing at the start of the chapter, haha. I just really didn't want to leave anyone out of that. In case you may have forgotten, Lindsey is the name I've given to 'Moppet Girl' from the movie. Litwak has a sort of friendship with her since she goes to the arcade practically on a daily basis.

I kind of enjoy doing these real world scenes :p. Fear not. Tomorrow's chapter will contain the game itself. I've teased it long enough. By the way, Rio is indeed one of the developers that provided the banter in Ralph's black box. The other being her late husband.

In case you're wondering, I'm willing to bet that TobiKomi is based in Japan, so let's say Rio flew over to see this particular arcade in person because so many TobiKomi games were gathered in one place. I just really wanted to introduce her, haha.


	81. A Bit of Adrenaline

Litwak, after a few hours of gaming, decided to leave and catch up on sleep. He tried a few rounds of Adrenaline Rush, and while it was **very** exciting to play and see all of the characters that came with it, he figured he would rather finish the story mode of each Sugar Rush 2 character before moving on to the ones in Adrenaline Rush.

* * *

Ralph, without hesitation, had taken to destroying trees in the woods surrounding the Niceland apartment buildings. This was after a healthy discussion he had with Gene the day before over the last time he got mad, he figured it was the least he could do. He just had to wreck **something** to calm down. After a good number of trees were destroyed, he managed to calm down enough to be spoken with.

"Easy, Ralph," Felix said in as soothing a voice as he could muster, "Even.. Even if Litwak **does **get this Turbo Time game.. He's not the same Turbo. Maybe he really will behave.." _I would like to think.._

"You expect **me** to take that chance?!" Ralph huffed, "After what Turbo did to **Vanellope**? And **King Candy**?! I say we keep him locked in his game **permanently**. And we can't forget **Set** who, along with Jet, got **four** games unplugged! Jet is the only decent one out of the bunch, and even **he** started out bad!" _There's no way we can allow this. We have to do __**something**__._

"How would you feel if you were held responsible for something a previous Wreck-It Ralph did?" Felix asked, still using his calming voice, "Our very programmer herself **said** he will behave. And she almost seemed to know we're alive.." _I just get that feeling._

"Felix.." Ralph said with a frustrated sigh, "Do you **happen** to remember when we lost our memory? The headaches? The glitching as our memories downloaded back into us once we went into games we had been into?!"

"Alright.." Felix muttered in defeat. _You do have a point there.. But what you're proposing is crossing the line._

"How Vanellope and Vannie **merged** with each other because their names were the same?!" Ralph continued angrily, "We can **not** allow that to happen!" _Let's say they __**would**__ be willing to behave. If Turbo steps foot in Sugar Rush or who knows what other games, or if Set steps foot in either Sugar Rush 2, Hero's Duty, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, what were the other two again?.._

"I said **alright**, Ralph!" Felix said in an annoyed tone, "What more do you **want** from me?! Jiminy jaminy, Ralph! Do you think you're the **only** one who can't forgive Turbo for what he did to Vanellope?! For what he did to Sugar Rush in general?! For what he did to Turbo Time?! For what he did to RoadBlasters?! It was a **different** Turbo! From a different **version** of Turbo Time!" _He could be a reasonable person for all we know!_

"Well I **still** say we go into every single game and delete every single memory Turbo had! I will **not** allow another Turbo incident! The same goes for Set!"

"Cool your jets, Wreck-It," Calhoun barked as she glided down on her cruiser, she was 'dressed down' in her white shirt and camo pants, "We'll handle it **if** and **when** Turbo Time is headed our way. Don't you have somewhere to be right now?" _Your princess is going to be more furious than you. Well, likely not._ She looked around at all the knocked over trees.

Ralph huffed and raised his hand, pointing at Calhoun. He opened his mouth to say something then shook his head, taking a deep breath. _Sweet Mother Hubbard. __I need to stop doing this.._ He tore off towards the exit of his game, giving his fingers a quick snap to magically rid himself of mud and various odors that were given to him courtesy of their benevolent developers.

Once on his way out of the exit he heaved a heavy sigh. He tapped his forehead and imagined an outfit. _S__ince I have the ability I might as well use it._ His outfit changed in a modest flash of sparkles a moment before he left the gateway of his game. He was then wearing khaki cargo pants and a white tank top covered by an unzipped, thin orange hoodie.

He quickly made his way to Sugar Rush 2 and headed for the track, hoping he wasn't **too** late.

"Ra~lph!" Vannie said in an annoyed tone, "You're **late**! I heard it all too, but **please** realize we're on a schedule." _Turbo__'s not even here right now, he might not even __come__ here. Besides, we can get Dads to do something about it, probably._

Ralph let out a protesting sigh, ready to defend himself, but was cut off before he could do so.

"**First** the race," Vannie said pointedly, listing off on her fingers, "**then** what comes after that," _Like I'm going to spell it out._ "then we check on Candice, then we watch Vanellope's race, then **finally** Adrenaline Rush! There simply **isn't** time to spare here.. I'm glad to see you like the outfit I suggested though." She breathed deeply. _It looks good on him._

Ralph sighed a calming sigh as the words practically fell out of his other ear and said, "I'm sorry.. I just had to get some frustration out.." _I don't want you to see me like that.._ He hugged her tightly for a few seconds and gave her a quick peck. "Now go win." He smiled. _That should help some, right?_

"Finally," Taffyta said with an annoyed smile as she looked over to Ralph and Vannie, "I want to get out of here ASAP, you know?" _Be a little more punctual, Ralph. __The wait is __**killing**__ me. Why did Rancis have to get my hopes up so high about this? What if he's wrong?_

"Sorry, Taffyta," Ralph said with a warm smile, "It's not going anywhere." _I hope her parents are there.. It' be s__o sad__ if they aren't.. __But __really,__ why would they reference her parents if they're not in the game, right?_

"Alright, Dad," Vannie said happily as she waved over King Candy who was boredly waiting in his stand, "We're good to go!" _I'm so glad __Ralph__'s __being __a little __more open __right now__. Such a chore __with him always making sure no one is looking__. Everyone already kn__ows we're__ going out in the first place, __Dummy__._

"I can't believe Litwak **did** that to me though!" Taffyta said frustratedly, "**One** track until my story mode was done! **One** race he could have won hands down! And he stopped! **On purpose**!" _I'd slap him so hard if I could! Lindsey won't let me down. She's almost done with mine too._

"Let's win this so that you can finish when the arcade opens," Rancis said encouragingly, with a confident smile.

"Says the guy who has been getting ahead of me lately," Taffyta said while rolling her eyes. _I never should have made that deal. _She gave him an annoyed smirk.

"If it'll make you feel any better I'll lose this time," Rancis said teasingly.

"You'd **better** come in first," Taffyta said with a chuckle, "You remember our agreement."

"How could I forget something like that?" Rancis asked, now brimming with confidence, "I'll get first even if I game over."

"You'll have to beat a lot of racers," Taffyta said teasingly, "Me **and** Vannie included." _Especially Vannie, I hate to admit. We at least get to hang out with her more now, __which is super fun even though they're always running off__. And Ralph's actually a pretty cool guy. He was __more than __a bit intimidating all the times I __was near__ him until then, though. __I guess Vannie has good taste after all._

"Just you watch!" Rancis said with a laugh, "You'll see." He hopped into his kart and clenched his steering wheel before stealing a glance in his side mirror. _It's not like she hasn't lost her first place slot in a Random Roster Race before. I just have to stay focused._

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Swizzle asked Gloyd, brimming with confidence.

"Are you kidding?" Gloyd asked Swizzle, he too brimming with confidence, "I was born ready for this!"

"Let's do our battle yell then!" Swizzle said with a mischievous smirk, "On the count of three.. One, two, three!"

Gloyd and Swizzle took a deep breath a yelled at the top of their lungs, "**HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**" Their fists were tightly clenched in front of them, they tensed up as if to summon untold amounts of spiritual energy into their bodies.

"What are you two idiots doing?" Minty Zaki asked while rolling her eyes? _You're embarrassing us._

"Stupid," Snowanna said with a sigh while shaking her head. _What are they even trying to do?_ She and Minty Zaki chuckled.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**" Gloyd and Swizzle finished and high fived each other before taking deep, excited breaths. _We so nailed it._

"Girls!" Gloyd said with an excited smile, "Our counterattack starts **now**."

"Please accept this energy," Swizzle said as he hugged Snowanna and Gloyd hugged Minty Zaki.

"Okay.." Minty Zaki said while rolling her eyes. _Maybe that's why._ She chuckled and shook her head.

"Ease up a little on the PDA," Snowanna said with a chuckle, "You're still on probation, you know?" _We might as well forgive them though, I guess._

"Got it.." Gloyd and Swizzle said in unison as they backed away and crossed their arms.

"But there's **no way** we won't make it on the roster now," Swizzle said, "Don't you agree?" _With this level of focus? No way we can lose._

* * *

"Everyone's having fun except us," Minty said to Jubileena with a chuckle as she eyed Leon and Garret up in the stands near where Ralph was now sitting.

"We always have fun," Jubileena said with chuckle. _You're forgetting a few racers, but I won't mention __them__. I'll let her be optimistic. I wonder if we __sho__uld __even__ approach them though.. It's really only something King Candy could take care of, them being recolors. Why did the developers leave them as recolors? I don't know the story behind it, if there even __**is**__ one._

"So who's up for heading to Adrenaline Rush when the race is over?" Jet asked with a smile. _Don't think about Turbo Time. Don't think about it. Don't hope. Don't worry. Forget it. They'll worry and that will just make things worse. __Please Litwak don't buy it. It will start up so much unnecessary drama.. It already is, __actually__, and that's just the threat of it coming to the arcade.. __Turbo and Set should **stay** dead. What if they merge with the previous ones' memories?_

"Me!" Minty said excitedly, "I've been waiting for this ever since I heard it was coming!" _Food! Oh, I can't wait to see it! We can get even fresher food, maybe? Since it's right there! Oh~!_

"Sounds interesting," Jubileena said with a smile, "I know Garret has been looking forward to it."

"Oh, Leon too!" Minty said excitedly.

"It sounds like we've got a plan then," Crumbelina said happily as she rested her hand on Jet's shoulder. _I __**can**__ tell, you know? I'm sure it will be fine somehow.. I imagine seeing Turbo, and especially Set would be a bit of a blow though, if Litwak does buy Turbo Time again.. I'm here for you, Jet. Don't worry._

Jet chuckled. _Thanks._

The Random Roster Race took place. In a shocking, or maybe not so shocking upset, Rancis took first place. His victory was bittersweet, however, as Taffyta came in tenth, just barely not making it onto the roster. Vannie came in a shocking fourth due to Rancis using a Sweet Seeker power up just ahead of the finish line.

Swizzle came in second, Minty Zaki in third, Minty in fifth, Gloyd in sixth, Snowanna in seventh, Megumi Berry in eighth, and Sticky Wipplesnit, the pale-skinned, teal and turquoise recolor of Minty Zaki came in ninth. Crumbelina, Jubileena and Jet came in eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth respectively.

* * *

"No no.." Taffyta said to Rancis with a frustrated sigh, "Let's just go to Adrenaline Rush. I'll be fine, but you can forget about our deal for today, sorry."

"Let's go then," Rancis said warmly, "They've gotta be there, I'm telling you.." _Forget about the deal for now.. I was already going to._

"You guys too?" Jet asked, "We're headed to Adrenaline Rush." _I think we can all use a bit of exploring right about now._

"Doesn't hurt to stick together," Taffyta said with a chuckle, "I just hope I'm not disappointed when I get there.."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Garret said reassuringly, "Your backstory said she's visiting there, right?" _It's a different game, but parents are parents, right? Well, about as much as she and her younger self are the same person.. But hey, they're meant to be parents and child, right? __I wonder how my parents are doing, anyways, haven't talked to them since getting plugged in, since Set was in control.. I already know they're in Hero's Duty.. That'll be awkward though. __No thanks__._

Taffyta, Rancis, Jet, Crumbelina, Minty, Leon, Jubileena, and Garret all went to Adrenaline Rush, which was located across the arcade in Game Station East.

* * *

"You do realize I did say to **win**," Ralph said teasingly after jumping down from the stands and walking over to Vannie.

"It happens," Vannie said while rolling her eyes, "Now let's go. There's no time like the present. In the car. Sit!" She shook her head while giving him an annoyed smile. _I don't get tossed out of first place often, you know. I guess I should expect to get picked on when it does happen._

Ralph shrugged and got into her kart, planting his feet firmly into the back seats. _It's like they were made for me.. I'm still worried about Turbo Time, but Felix does have a point.. But no matter what, even __**if**__ they turn out to not go psycho, they're going to have a **hard** time._

Vannie drove the two of them towards the castle, practicing her glitching along the way. _I may have control over when I do it, but how far and the like is still a bit iffy.._

"Enjoying your wizard ability, hmm?" Ralph said wryly. _Best to put the Turbo Time issue out of my mind for now._

"Oh **yeah**," Vannie said just as wryly, "Mine is more along the lines of a code exploit though, yours is full on magic." _It feels good being able to do this though. It feels natural. Too bad I'm not allowed to use it while actually racing though. Oh well._

"Very useful magic," Ralph scoffed, "I can make outfits like nobody's business. I still haven't figured out why that's so much easier than making Candice's present was. Talk about frustrating."

"Yeah, Felix told us **all** about it, I know," Vannie said with a laugh before imitating his accent, "Oh my land! Ralph, I'm so sorry!" _And then you smashed up the building. Well, it's what you were programmed for, after all._

"Felix is getting into the whole wizarding business too now, isn't he?" Ralph said with a chuckle, "Since he's able to undo something he has fixed, it probably won't be long before he decides he wants to be able to actually fight or something." _I wouldn't blame him, even if it is kind of going against what we're originally programmed for._

"I wanna do that.." Vannie said seriously, "I mean, what **is** the harm in that?" _Remind me, oh wise one._

"If **you** were able to fight, you would want to fight," Ralph said while rolling his eyes, "If you would want to fight, you would get into fights. I don't want you getting hurt, that's all.." _I can't really tell you what to do though, but all the same.. My opinion shifted so rapidly..  
_

"But you know, Ralph.." Vannie said, "Suppose some evil guy shows up that **really** hates you and decides he wants to kidnap me or something. Don't I deserve to be able to defend myself against such a situation, rather than hope that you know where I was brought or some such other similar scenario?" _You __**know**__ I'm not being unreasonable here, Ralph. And who says I'd go off getting into fights just because I'd be able to?_

"I just.." Ralph said with a sigh, "I don't know how to say it.. **Yes**, you deserve to be able to get out of a jam yourself, but it still feels unnatural changing our code the way we've been doing. Our code is who we are.. What if we ruin something by messing up the wording, or the code somehow misinterprets our intentions?" _I'm still confused why my 'cleaning ability' is anything touching me and anything within a two foot radius rather than just 'single target', namely me.. It's what I typed after all. It's almost like there's another layer of coding we're missing. It's dangerous.._

"Well what would you have me do, Ralph?" Vannie asked in an annoyed tone, "I'm sure Vanellope wouldn't enjoy being in a situation like that either. We **have** the power to change that. Like we can basically make ourselves superheroes if we want to. I just don't want to end up in a situation like Jet kept finding himself in for a while. He was able to fight back in Dragon's Lair, and even then he **still** nearly died. You **all **nearly died. You all made it back by pure luck.. I just hate the idea of being so **powerless** in a world full of supermen." _Especially if Turbo Time gets plugged in, and Turbo does what Turbo did. Or Set, for that matter. That'd be a disaster._

Ralph sighed and said, "I don't know what to tell you.. I just want you to be safe. It's why I changed my code in the first place, so I know I don't have to worry about hurting you." _You __**and**__ Vanellope._

"There's no such thing as **true** safety," Vannie said, "Not here. Probably not anywhere.. I understand how you feel, Ralph. I **really** do.. but at least let me have **something**. It's not like I plan on seeking danger just because I could possibly handle it. You've been involved in a lot of trouble ever since your game's thirtieth anniversary, so has **anyone** you're really close to. I'm not saying it's your fault, because it **isn't**. Don't go thinking it is for a second, but I don't want to be unable to defend myself. Worse yet if Vanellope is there with me and you're somewhere else." _Do I even __**need**__ to keep arguing?_

"I'm just one of the lucky ones, aren't I.." Ralph said, "It just feels like if we keep doing this kind of thing, that it will eventually turn into a coding war where game characters modify their code at will, trying to stay equal or above everyone else." _I'm sure that Bobby and Sonny are probably living gods at this point. I shudder to think what kind of damage they could do if they wanted to cause trouble. I'm no exception __though__, am I? Wanting to keep Turbo and the others locked in their game for something they have no knowledge of yet.. That would be if they even get plugged in.. This is so frustrating. Why do we all have the potential to go Turbo if we have access to a room in our games?_

"Well when some characters are programmed to be able to kill someone before they know they're even **there**," Vannie said, "It's hard to not feel insecure. How do you think Crumbelina felt when she saw Jet slowly dying in front of her after that one Bad-Anon meeting before Gary brought Felix over? If Felix was any later, Jet really would have died then too. And there was nothing Crumbelina could have done about it. Suppose she could heal people, Ralph. Don't you think that would have been much easier to handle? Suppose **you** could heal people. I know you had to have felt just as powerless as her at the time." She sighed. "Forget I said anything.." _At least I can glitch.._

* * *

Taffyta and the others finally made it inside Adrenaline Rush. They were immediately greeted with the smell of the giant shish kebab trees littering the entrance as well as giant portobello mushrooms sticking out of the ground like chairs. Out in the distance giant boars could be seen roaming around fiercely.

Taffyta looked around anxiously, her heart was beating out of her chest. _Well I kind of expected food.. But living animals too?_ She crossed her arms over her stomach. _I wonder how we can get around? Walking doesn't exactly seem perfectly safe._

"Where's everyone at?" Leon asked, "There's supposed to be people right?"

"Do you suppose they have something like our Random Roster Race?" Crumbelina asked, "Or failing that, maybe there's a town. There **has** to be a town, right?"

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!" they could hear a man screaming out in the distance. He was driving a large green and black tiger-striped monster truck, and he was headed their way, kicking up the brown gravy mix dirt as he did so. He peeled out a few yards in front of the group and exited the vehicle. "Howdy," he said whilst chewing a bit of beef jerky, "Satoru said we would be gettin' guests soon." He smiled warmly. "I reckon this is all a bit strange to ya, so if ya got any questions, I'm yer guy to ask. Fer now at least." He was around his early 20s and wore a stereotypical cowboy outfit as though he were out of an old western.

"Ah," Jet said with a modest chuckle, "Well you see, most of us come from a game called Sugar Rush 2, I don't suppose that would make explaining things any easier.." _Names._ "Oh, right. My name's Jet. Here we have Crumbelina, Taffyta, Rancis, Minty, Jubileena, Leon, and Garret."

"That's a bunch of names," the man said with a chuckle, "Might take a while fer me ta remember 'em all. Taffyta though, that one does ring a bell, uh huh. It's the same but different. If ya get what I mean. Oh right, my name. Just call me Shanks." He winked.

"Can you tell us about this other person?!" Taffyta asked anxiously, "Is her name Taffy?!" _You'd better not be just pretending to know what you're talking about or I will hit you.._

"Yeah, that's it," Shanks said, "I'm guessin' you know 'er. She's mighty sweet if I do say so myself."

"She's Taffyta's mom," Rancis said happily while nudging her in the side softly.

"Well you see," Shanks said, with his smile having faded, "That's right impossible.. Ain't no way. Taffy I'm talkin' about ain't no more than 25 at most. Sorry girl.. Though you do favor her, I gotta say."

"I think I gotta sit down.." Taffyta said as she sat down on a giant portobello mushroom, "I can't believe this.." _Is there another Taffy besides my mom? That can't be right, but then again Minty and Minty Zaki.. _She rested her forehead on her clasped hands and her elbows on her knees.

"I'm sorry.." Shanks said sincerely, "I reckon ya'll came here to find 'er?"

"It was the main reason she and I were here.." Rancis said somberly, "By any chance could you tell us her last name? Just so we can be sure she's not who we're looking for.." _I thought for sure.. Taffy wouldn't be a common name, would it? Can't be.._

"Fudge," Shanks said sincerely, "Her last name's Fudge."

Taffyta suddenly started giggling and wiping her eyes. "That's not even funny.." she said with a sniffle, "My last name is Muttonfudge.." _What is this?_

"Muttonfudge?" Shanks asked curiously, "Well if that ain't something.." He pulled out another piece of beef jerky, "Y'see, mine's Mutton." _I do believe I've got the picture. __If that ain't something, I don't know what is._

* * *

**Author's Note:** So I'm not really sure **where** I was going with Ralph and Vannie's talk. I could either make it amount to nothing, or have her able to fight later on, I don't know. I haven't exactly thought about it at all until their conversation just flowed that way. I'm with both Ralph **and** Vannie on this one to be honest. I don't know if I should change them any further code-wise than I already have. Basically this kind of conversation **would** come up sooner or later, with them not being total idiots and all.

On the one hand, it would quite likely ruin any action that I could come up with as there would be no tension as far as them possibly getting hurt is concerned, but on the other, that's not what this series is mainly about to begin with even though there are sometimes instances where it shows up.

I think I don't have to explain what's going on in Adrenaline Rush right now. Why I made him a cowboy/redneck of sorts is beyond even me though. Especially since he drives a monster truck.


	82. Young Father

"So basically you're her dad, but from before you and her mom got married," Jubileena said with a smile, "That's pretty cool, I think.." _Hopefully they don't mind the age difference.. Of course it's a little weird, though.._

"Sure seems so, don't it?" Shanks said with a smile while chewing his jerky, "Well, a bit premature on my end, but welcome to the family, Taffyta." _I don't know if a hug would be appropriate or not. Always thought it'd be right nice to have a kid though.. But I couldn't leave **here**, I got an important job to do. _His face turned a bit more serious._ I reckon I never did leave.._

"I should have at least known your name.." Taffyta said with a sigh. _I should have known it. I'm disappointed in myself.._ She smiled modestly, looking down at the ground. _It may be a little off timing-wise, but my parents exist somewhere. And my dad is right **here**. It's weird how young he is.._

"Well that ain't somethin' you can help," Shanks said reassuringly, "I just found out I get married and have a kid." He laughed. "How's that fer a kick in the pants? A good'n. We gotta bring you to see Taffy, darlin'. If ya'll are still interested in us, that is." _Another thing on Satoru's list of things to do: ease up on my accent.. I feel more out of place than a sardine in the Hog Head Hollow.._

"Absolutely!" Taffyta said excitedly, "I just.. It's a lot to take in.." She laughed nervously and stood up. Rancis softly nudged her over to Shanks, rolling his eyes. _Hug him already. I know you're holding back. He shouldn't mind.._

"Ah," Taffyta said with a surprised laugh, "Cut it out, Rancis." _He's practically our age.._

"Aww, c'mere Taffyta," Shanks said warmly, "In place of the me who would have been in your time.." He hugged her. "I reckon I must have been gone most of yer life, bein' an important part of Adrenaline Rush's economy.." _It hasn't happened yet from my perspective, but she's all grown up.. And even though that may be the case, it just feels right to treat her as my daughter.._

"Yeah.." Taffyta said modestly as she hugged him tightly, her makeup running slightly as she barely allowed herself to cry, "Mom too, since she has a clothing store chain to take care of, and her frequent visits here.." She heaved a shaky sigh and let go, backing away slowly, wiping her eyes. "What is it that you do?" _I have so much I'd like to ask.._

"I reckon you could say I'm something like a gourmet hunter?" Shanks said, unsure how else to title his job, "I collect the harder, riskier to collect food ingredients.. Deadly animals, things growing in hard to reach places, things like that. It's one of this game's gameplay modes. It's not just any old coot's job." He chuckled. _I hope you at least had someone loving to take care of you. I don't know if I should ask.._

"So that's why you never came to Sugar Rush.." Taffyta said sadly, "My backstory never really said anything about it.." _It's mostly focused on mom.._

"I wish my uh.. **future** self could have found a replacement.." Shanks said apologetically, "Life can be unfair.." _It would have been my fault for this, so I'll make it up to you. _"I want you to know that you can come see me any time you want. Satoru isn't done making it completely safe for visitors yet, but he should get it soon enough." _Rio at least gave it a shot when making the game. Poor old gal.._

"I appreciate that," Taffyta said with a chuckle, "So can you bring us to Mom? I mean, Taffy.." _Should I be calling them Mom and Dad? It seems like it would be a little silly.._

"Sure thing," Shanks said excitedly, "Ya'll can hop on the back. Taffyta, you can take the passenger seat in here if you'd like. I'll drive nice n' slow." _I have to be 'specially careful right now._

"Would Rancis be able to fit too?" Taffyta asked sheepishly, "He's my boyfriend." She lightly pinched Rancis' cheek, receiving an annoyed smile from him.

"You'd have to scoot a lot," Shanks said with a laugh, "But I reckon that's doable. Alright, get on in." _Seems like a good'n._

* * *

"C'mon, Vannie," Ralph said pleadingly as they reached the castle and went inside, "Don't be mad at me, please? You can glitch out of the way and stuff.." _Developer knows I could use something like **that**._

"Yeah, and I'm glad I **can**," Vannie said with a sigh, "Let's just hope no one happens to have **glitch-proof chains**, yeah?"

"If you're that worried, maybe we could have Splinter train you?" Ralph said half seriously, "You remember him from before, right? Well I already told you he had taught Felix how to fight, kind of. Felix mostly just dodges out of the way from what I can tell, but that might just be his nature. I'm sure he teaches fighting techniques too."

"Training sounds so **boring** though," Vannie said while wrinkling her nose and rolling her eyes, "That'd also take time away from us.. And I also want to explore every nook in Adrenaline Rush." _It'd be so much faster to just download the information into my code. And besides, what's a giant sewer rat doing teaching turtles how to be ninjas?_

"I'll go too," Ralph said with a chuckle, "I'm sure it can't be **that** bad. And when it's over, we can say we're ninjas." _I won't say how long it'll take for something like that. Not that I know anyway, but training takes time. It took me two weeks, practically, to make Candice's Christmas present from that memory we gave her and that was just one specific item.. Hopefully all this code we've written for Candice does what it's intended.. Well, sentences really. But the black box does the work for us. I hope it doesn't overload or something. We've never tried anything like this before.__  
_

Vannie laughed and said, "You'd be a ninja wizard. That would be kind of funny.. I'll think about it." _As long as it's with you, how bad can it be?_

"We good then?" Ralph asked hopefully.

"I'll cut you some slack this time," Vannie said while giving him a hug then kept walking, up the stairs, "But you better give me my way at least sometimes."

"Oh yeah, like I don't give you your way most of the time," Ralph said sarcastically as they approached his room, "Besides, you'll know how to fight when it's all over, so you'll get your way regardless."

"I don't like taking things the slow way though," Vannie said teasingly, "You know I get bored easily."

"I know you're also easily amused," Ralph said teasingly as they entered his room and closed the door.

"Yeah yeah," Vannie said while rolling her eyes, "Let's stop talking about it, alright? It's settled." She hugged him tightly again and rested her head on his chest as he rubbed her back softly with one of his hands. "Mmm.. I feel better already." _I hate it when we argue.._

"I hate it when we argue.." Ralph said with a sigh. He closed his eyes and lightly rested his chin on her head.

Vanellope laughed and said, "You'd better.. Come on, my legs are getting tired." She broke away from Ralph and scrambled into the large bed. _No point in standing around like a couple of idiots. Cuddling is better than hugging anyway. No kisses right now though, last time was dangerous.. I do hope Vanellope won't mind waiting just a few more minutes. Her races did get moved back a bit, so it should be fine._

"Just imagine your dad's face if he saw us right now," Ralph said with a nervous chuckle as he slowly joined her, "He sure likes to overreact." _But most importantly I'd game over from the embarrassment._

"**You** overreacted more when he found out I was sleeping in here with you and Vanellope all this time.." Vannie said wryly as she adjusted herself so that she could rest her head on his chest again, "All that did was make him suspicious that something was actually going on in here." _I wish we could just go back to sleep, but **that** would be unfair to Vanellope._

"I don't handle embarrassment well," Ralph said, "You know that." _My face was burning after that little peck earlier._

* * *

"I'm glad they're getting along," Minty said with a smile, she was just barely audible over the sound of the monster truck. _The ages are way off, but it's still nice that her parents are here. A-D-R-E-N.. Okay that doesn't work. But maybe I should bring Leon to meet my parents sometime. I wonder what his are like too.. Or wait, does he have parents? He said his backstory only had that humiliating spider jumping on his face memory so maybe he doesn't? I hope he does have parents.. But then that would likely be two people who themselves don't have parents.. Urgh.._

"Yeah," Leon said with a chuckle, "And I was sure I'd ruin the moment if I said anything.." _As I oft do._

"You're not alone there," Garret said, "We were all thinking that I'm sure." _It was a father-daughter moment, you don't interfere with something like that._

"Well except for **me**.." Jubileena said with a chuckle, "I just had to open my mouth." _I just couldn't help it._

Jet chuckled. _At least she lightened up about that._

"But you said what we were thinking, more or less," Crumbelina said cheerfully as she looked through the glass between them and Taffyta, Rancis, and Shanks who were talking happily. Taffyta was sitting partially on Rancis' lap with her arm over his shoulder.

"This truck is huge though," Leon said in amazement, "I can't say I've ever even seen a monster truck before now." _Somehow I just know to call it that._

"If I had to guess," Jet said, "It's probably because he hauls food in the back, right? I wonder if it cleans itself out. I imagine juices would spill out back here." _Like if Ralph were hiding in the truck or something. I still find it hard to believe he can do that.  
_

"Juices?" Crumbelina said with a bewildered expression.

"You know, animal blood and stuff like that," Jet said, "He's a hunter.." _He said so himself he hunts deadly animals as part of his job. I guess those giant boars probably count too._

"**Eww**!" Minty said in disgust as she frantically looked around the truck bed looking for anything fitting that description, "I **better** not get that kind of stuff on me!" _Grossness to the max!_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, well my computer's replacement power supply went out already.. That's just one of the joys of being me. This was written on another computer in the house. I don't have full-time access to this one, but I'll write on it when I can because it makes things a lot easier than using an ipod all the time. In case you're curious, I've ordered another power supply. I'm not sure when that'll come in, but it's got a higher wattage on it than the one I ordered last time. Hopefully it will fix the problem.


	83. Shanks' Job

"Well, Rancis," Shanks said proudly, "I gotta say I'm right impressed. I'm glad she's had someone like you to keep 'er occupied." He laughed.

"D-That is not funny," Taffyta said with a laugh, "But I'm glad too." She tightened her hold on Rancis. "The developers at least did **something** right." _What would I do without him?_

"Hey, come on now," Shanks said sincerely, "The developers are wonderful people with lives of their own, you know? They ain't got it as easy as we do half the time, trust me on that."

"So where are we headed, Shanks?" Rancis asked, "We've past a few points of interest so far.." _I'd like to stay away from the Hog Head Hollow. It stinks.._

"We're headed to Bramble," Shanks said, the smile returning to his face, "That's the town and gourmet hub of Adrenaline Rush.. Now I gather from what you said a while ago that in Sugar Rush ya'll don't use a currency for pretty much anything except races, but it's slightly different here. Worlds apart, actually."

"Different how?" Rancis asked, genuinely curious. _It sounds like something useful to know._

"Well y'see.." Shanks said, trying to figure out the best way to put it, "Alright, so we have this ranking system fer food ingredients. The highest possible rank is S, but goes to A, then B, then finally C and D.. Within **those** ranks are mini-ranks, or whatever you'd call that. S goes from 1-5, A is 1-250, B is 1-500, C is 1-1000, and D is pretty much not even ranked at all like that, since that's what most everything around **these** parts is. It'd be a waste of space to add numbers. Satoru says it's so thought out like this 'cause there's gonna be an MMO based on it eventually."

"Must be tough living in an MMO.." Taffyta said, "Sure you get to do what you're programmed for almost all the time, but then there's no **free** time.." _Imagine being stuck standing around in the same spot for an eternity just talking to player characters.._

"That's why they got things called **instances**," Shanks said knowingly, "I'd be right shocked if no game in this here arcade has somethin' akin to it. Usin' copies of an original for multiple roles at a time. Goes fer game characters too. Oh, but goin' back on what I was sayin' before. C and D ingredients are cheap and easy to gather, but you can collect a bunch and trade 'em in fer cash to buy better ingredients and other assorted things like cookin' supplies and the like. The higher the ingredient's rank, the more expensive it is fer tradin'. You'd be right lucky to find an S-rank ingredient in stock anywhere though. Even I can't go collect a bunch considerin' they only pop up once a day each."

"So who's Satoru?" Taffyta asked with a smile, "You've mentioned him a few times." _I also want to know more about the foods, but maybe after this question.. I wonder what the S rank ones taste like. Since they're rare, they must be super good._

"He's a good man," Shanks said with a smile, "A good man. He takes care of everything here behind the scenes you could say. But that's best left fer later when you meet him."

Rancis sat there without a word, smiling. _I'm so glad they're getting along. I'm really curious about who Satoru is now though. King Candy said 20 years ago, for us anyway, a woman was in charge. The times match, more or less. I guess he could still be the king, but he wouldn't be running things if she's running things. Well, unless they run things together, but then why didn't he mention the queen at all? I guess I'll have to wait.._

* * *

"Vannie.." Ralph said softly with a warm smile plastered across his face as he brushed her hair out of her face with a finger, "You can't let yourself fall asleep so easily. Come on, we have to go." _I hate to get up too though._

"Five more minutes.." Vannie said with a groan as she softly tightened her arms around Ralph. Her head was still rested on Ralph's chest. _I know I should get up, but this is **your** fault for being so comfortable.._

"Alright," Ralph said callously as he tore himself away from her gently and got out of bed, "Come join me in five minutes then."

"Ra~lph!" Vannie said in an annoyed, tired tone, sighing heavily. _This'll show him! _She glitched out of bed and grabbed onto him, then glitched back into bed along with him. _The winner is me.  
_

"Vannie.." Ralph said chidingly with a sigh, "We have to go check on Candice, remember? Felix and Calhoun are waiting for us in the code room by now. We simply don't have time to waste, remember?"

"Urgh, fine.." Vannie said as she slowly sat up, sighing heavily, "I just don't want to share you right now."

"I can tell," Ralph said with a chuckle, "I'm sure we'll find time again soon."

"Uh, yeah!" Vannie said in an annoyed tone, "Like **tomorrow**.."

There was a knock at the door which caused both of them to freeze.

Ralph's face immediately had a guilty expression. _What excuse can we cook up? Who is it? King Candy? Sour Bill? Salty Phil? No, not the last one. He has a rougher knock._

Vannie glitched over to the door and took a deep, relaxing breath before opening it, hoping Ralph composes himself before he makes them look suspicious.

"Heya chumps," Vanellope said with a smirk, "Whatcha **doin'**?" _I heard you glitch, you know?_

"Just talking," Ralph said with a shrug. _I'm glad she at least knocked._ He looked unflustered, but his heart was pounding with anxiety.

"Yeah.." Vannie said while scratching the back of her neck. _We were about to leave anyway._

Vanellope rolled her eyes and said, "Ralph, don't insult my intelligence." She laughed, then looked over to Vannie. "And I expected something more elaborate from you. Anyways, it's time!" Her eyes glimmered with excitement. "King Candy had me come gather you up." _Like I wouldn't find out you two were sneaking away to be alone. I didn't say anything just to be fair._

"Really?!" Vannie said excitedly, forgetting about being found out, "Hurry up Ralph, you're so slow!" She glitched to him and back, getting him out of bed. _Just gotta keep practicing that. Works almost flawlessly for short distances like this.. Watch and learn, Vanellope. Who knows what else we can do with a power like this besides getting out of the way of things? I still need to pack a punch though._

"Alright, let's go," Ralph said with a chuckle as the three ran to the throne room and went down the hidden elevator behind the throne. _I guess I should have known Vanellope would find us out sooner rather than later._

* * *

"So many weird foods," Minty said with a laugh, "Is this how you guys see our game, I wonder?"

"No.. Well maybe a little," Leon said with a chuckle, "But like I said, it makes more sense with candy because with food, you just have it more in-grained that food left out goes bad quickly. But here it's growing out of the ground and sometimes already cooked and steaming." _I suppose it's good that at least some of it is raw, for those out there who are chefs.._

"Either way it's all good to me," Garret said with a smile, "Anyone else wondering where he keeps getting beef jerky from?" He glanced through the back window of the monster truck to see that Shanks and Taffyta were still talking happily, and Rancis was just grinning and occasionally nodding.

"I'm sure that the Food Fight chefs would appreciate this place.." Jet said while scratching his chin, "Maybe they can get their ingredients here for when their restaurant finally gets made." _Ralph says King Candy is working on a secret project right now, that's why it's taking so long. I hope they finish soon. I haven't spoken with the chefs since that Bad-Anon meeting even though I went to BurgerTime with Gloyd and Swizzle.. I hope they're not holding it against **me** that their restaurant isn't ready yet._

"I'm sure they would appreciate you telling them about it," Crumbelina said with a smile, "I know they said not to talk to them, but I'm sure they'll change their mind at least a little when you tell them. It'll make their food that much better, right? Since they're five star chefs.. I bet my mom would like this place too." _She's been happily cooking and supervising at the cafe. She's still a little grumpy about the issue with Jet, but at least she doesn't hate him. I guess I should have told her sooner. It's weird that she didn't seem to care about what all he did before though, but it works for me._

* * *

"It took you long enough," Calhoun said wryly with her arms crossed.

"Glad to see you could make it!" King Candy(1) said with a laugh. _This moment came a lot faster than I expected since we had so many idea generators.  
_

"Shall we begin?" King Candy asked with a nervous laugh.

"Zombie thinks it's time," Zombie said with a nod. He was wearing a non-tattered version of his usual outfit. "Could take vote if think that better."

"I don't think that will be necessary," King Candy(1) said with a nervous laugh, "Let's go!"

"Who wants to be the memory guinea pig?" King Candy asked seriously.

"Zombie first!" Zombie said with a smile while raising his hand excitedly, "Zombie have lowest consequence if mess up."

"Okay, here goes.." King Candy said hesitantly as he copied a pre-prepared altered version of Candice's memories and moved it over into Zombie's waiting file shortcut's black box.

Zombie laughed and nodded and indicated everything was fine.

Ralph was the most hesitant out of the bunch, but when it was finally his turn he was relieved, and felt a sudden surge of familial love explode inside him. And yet he was also slightly confused as if he had watched Candice grow up from 3 years old to 19 in the span of a year.

"I don't know what you were so worried about," Vannie said with a laugh. _Worry wart._

"Yeah, Ralph," Vanellope said, "Honestly." _It's not like we were giving you any super powers or anything, Mr. I-have-to-unlock-the-file-first._

King Candy broke out into a cold sweat as he tapped and dragged a few things into place. _The culmination of all our laughter and tears, weeks of tirelessly writing memories and proofreading and changing minor details, then **adding** details.. It's all coming down to this one moment._ King Candy(1) put his hand on King Candy's shoulder in support.

"Perhaps it would be more appropriate if **you** did the honors," King Candy said, looking back to King Candy(1). _She's my daughter too, basically.. She's that way to all of us, **technically**.. But she was **your** idea. She's **your** daughter._

"Gladly," King Candy(1) said gratefully as he floated into place in front of Candice's file. He took a deep, shaky breath and smiled warmly, his heart was practically bursting with fatherly love. In her character profile, he typed coordinates for her to spawn in and indicated she would spawn in her room, sleeping soundly, ready to wake up after a few minutes. _This will give us time to greet her in a more comfortable setting._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I had almost all of this typed out on that other computer but in the last scene had to switch to using my iPod as people were in the room just being a distraction, haha.

If anyone is interested in manga, Shanks' job is inspired by a manga called Toriko. It's very entertaining.


	84. Candice Awakens

Ralph and his gang quickly made their way to Candice's room where she was sleeping, stopping just outside her door. Their breaths were held anxiously, and they were unsure if they should go inside or wait for her to come out on her own. She was **finally** alive and kicking! And any moment now she would be waking up for real, for the first time.

Ralph was the first to lose this unspoken breath-holding competition. "**Do** we go inside? Or wait until she comes out?" he asked anxiously, running his fingers through his hair. _I don't know what to even expect when we see her.._

"M-maybe we should knock?" Vannie asked. _The wait is killing me._

* * *

Candice awoke after having a beautiful dream. It was as if her life were flashing in front of her eyes, sparing no detail. She had long brown hair which was pulled into a ponytail, held in place by a thin red and white striped ribbon. Her green eyes would occasionally be obscured by her bangs. She smiled and slowly sat up. She looked at her hands and felt her hair and face before pulling her red and white striped bed sheets to the side, revealing her default attire.

She wore a red zip-up hoodie which was left open. Underneath that was a white t-shirt with a few thin red swirls going around in a random, almost spiral pattern. She had a dark cinnamon colored skirt which was accented by mismatched red and white striped leggings. The patterns of her leggings were mirrored when compared to Vannie and Vanellope's. Her boots were black.

She was satisfied. _This will take some getting used to, moving around and stuff. _She shook her head to shake off the rest of her tiredness and decided to look around her room. Proudly on display on a low shelf was the present Ralph got her one Christmas. She picked it up gently and flashes of that Christmas came to the front of her mind, almost as if she were reliving it. _Thanks, Ralph.. _She felt as though she could cry, remembering how much fun she had that day. How she insisted on cinnamin buns as an appetizer for dinner, and later playing with the toy gun Calhoun had given her, using Zombie as the default baddie. He had humored her by jolting back as if he were actually hit by the fake shots coming from the gun and covered his heart, falling over 'dead'. She put it back down carefully, being sure not to drop it.

Among the candy cane themed decorations in her room, there was also a computer generated picture of her as a kid and Zombie flashing peace signs. She quietly giggled. _He's so silly.. That was a good day. They were **all** good days.. _She looked around the room some more, checking out the other computer generated photos that were made for her. Some were with them as a full group, some were just her and one or two of them doing something fun. She sighed contentedly. _I wonder how they're doing. How should I act when I see them? So weird that they made me, but it's not so different from how they were made.._

She heaved a shaky sigh and walked to her door, then slowly turned the knob. _Just act natural, it's what they would want too.._ She slowly opened the door, almost knowing without a doubt they were waiting for her. She gasped in happy surprise and covered her mouth all the same at the sight of them. Their loving, shocked smiles knocking the wind out of her.

Vanellope and Vannie were the first to make moves, excitedly hugging Candice, showering her with the affection they didn't even realize they had been holding back, tears freely ran down the cheeks of the three as if they hadn't seen each other in years. Ralph was getting choked up as well, all that time worrying how she would turn out, if she would hate them for how she was made, or if she would somehow be broken when waking up.. All of that was swept away as he witnessed for himself the sweet girl before him, tightly embracing Vannie and Vanellope like the sisters they were meant to be.

Ralph slowly made his way to the trio of girls and added himself to the hug pile, tears stinging his eyes. The two King Candys giggled and hurriedly added themselves into the mix, having only just found the strength to walk after the shock of seeing her. Vannie and Vanellope made room for the two kings, and Candice knelt down to hug them tightly. "Thank you.." Candice said softly with a sniffle, "You guys.." She giggled, giddy with embarrassment at how they were all reacting.

"Happy birthday," King Candy(1) said with an embarrassed laugh as he hugged her tightly, paying no mind to the tears rolling down to his neck. _My daughter.. You're everything I hoped for._

"We're so happy to have you with us, sweetie," King Candy said with a sniffle and embarrasesed laugh. _**Our** daughter.._

Zombie and Felix were next in the hug line, waiting their turns patiently. "NNNNGH!" Zombie said playfully as he walked over to her with his arms raised in the stereotypical zombie stance, "Zombie **so** happy to finally see Candice in person." He laughed and hugged her tightly, yet softly with his oddly powerful arms.

"We all are," Felix said with a chuckle, exaggerated tears flowing down his cheeks as he hugged her, "Jaminy.. We love you so much, Candice. Welcome home.."

"Thanks," Candice said with a chuckle and a sniffle, "You guys.. Really.." _They were waiting for me.. _She smiled and looked up to Calhoun who was grinning and quietly watching a couple feet away with her arms crossed. Candice gently broke away from the group and stood up, walking over to Calhoun and gave her a long, tight hug.

"You've grown into a fine woman," Calhoun said with a chuckle as she tightly wrapped her arms around Candice, barely allowing a few tears to escape. She never was much for shedding tears, but this was by far an acceptable exception to her.

"Look at us," Candice said with a chuckle, "We're all just a bunch of crying idiots." _I couldn't ask for a better family than this group.._ She gently broke away from Calhoun and wiped her eyes. She grinned as she got a good look at each of her family members, taking in their loving, excited expressions. Her heart swelled with love for each of them as if she had actually known them all for 19 years and was reuniting with them after a long trip.

"Nothing wrong with a good cry between family," Ralph said with a smirk while lightly poking her forehead with a finger.

"Yeah!" Vanellope said excitedly as she jumped, "Besides, we **finally** meet in person! This is so exciting!" She breathed an excited sigh. _We're going to have so much fun together!_

"So, **Sis**!" Vannie said mischievously, "How do you like it so far?" _Being alive, seeing us for real for the first time, you know.._

"I love it.." Candice sniffled again, wiping more tears out of her eyes, "You guys are great.. I can't even tell you how much this means to me.." _I'm so happy I could game over.._

"Hey, come on.." Vannie said with a chuckle, hugging Candice again, "You're such a sweetie.. You're perfect.." She tore herself away slowly. "And I finally have a **sister**."

"Is there anything we can get you?" King Candy(1) asked with a warm, loving smile, "Anything at all?" There was a hint of nervousness in his voice. _Is there anything we may have forgotten? I hope not._

Candice laughed and rubbed King Candy(1)'s bald head, making his crown float a few inches. "I'm a little hungry, I guess?" she said playfully, "Did you guys eat yet?"

* * *

"We're finally here," Shanks said excitedly as he parked his monster truck next to several others in a sort of parking lot at the southern border of Bramble, the town and trading hub of all Adrenaline Rush. There were hundreds of humans running around its entirety, rather than people made of food. They were the citizens of Bramble, taking part in the trading of ingredients and wares.

"This place is amazing!" Taffyta said in awe as Rancis helped her out of the monster truck. The town looked like an actual real-world city. Rather than buildings made out of food, they were made out of bricks, mortar and glass. The town itself was based on a circular pattern, with three skyscrapers occupying the epicenter where most of the activity took place. There were a few normal trees bearing fruit growing between the sidewalks and roads every few yards.

"It's so different from Sugar Rush," Minty said with a giggle, "It smells so good here, too!" _Candy smells good, but mmm! Real food has it beat!_

"Sorry, Crumbelina," Leon said with a chuckle, "We probably found a new place to eat."

"So long as ya got the money," Shanks said with a laugh, "Ain't nothin' free here unless ya pull it out the ground yerself."

"I think we can handle that," Jet said with a chuckle, "But I'd suspect that having chefs prepare something here costs extra." _I think we can work something out with the Food Fight chefs though, I'm willing to bet. They'd love this place, no doubt. I know how they feel about game jumping usually, but really.. Everyone game jumps, it doesn't have to have the negative connotation it is sometimes given._

"Yer catchin' on!" Shanks said excitedly, "That's right er.. Jet!" _Let's see.. Crumbelina, Leon, Minty, Jubileena, and Garak.. I think that's about right.. _"So long as ya got all the ingredients with ya though it'd be much cheaper."

"Is the money paper? Just numbers?" Jubileena asked, "In Sugar Rush we use these cards.." She flashed at him a small card similar in size and thickness to a credit card. _Of course they're just for show mostly.._

"We use those too," Shanks said, "Of course you'd need one specifically fer here."

"Suppose we bring things in from other games.." Leon said, "Would that get us more than the C and D ranked ingredients?" _Because there's lots of stuff in Sugar Rush too that these guys probably don't see much of. And Pac-Man has those giant cherries.. That's surely not even ranked, being from an unrelated game._

"Good point," Garret said, "What if we brought stuff from Sugar Rush?"

"Now I didn't think of that," Shanks said while happily stroking his chin, "Sugar Rush ingredients are at least B rank. I think the highest rank bein' A-34, fer Mentos." _Where you'd find that is anyone's guess. _"Things from unrelated games will prolly be given a rank to themselves and have it based on rarity and difficulty of collection."

Leon proudly puffed out his chest and said, "We can handle that easy, we know just the place." _Our gliders reach the top of Diet Cola Mountain easily._

"Now just keep in mind," Shanks said, "To avoid floodin' the market they only keep 10 units of each A-rank ingredient on hand, so try not to bring too much of the same thing."

"So where's Mom? I mean Taffy.." Taffyta said with a smile. _Sorry, this **is** interesting, but I want to meet her.._

"Last I saw 'er she was negotiatin' in one of those tall buildings over yonder fer her clothin' store," Shanks said with a smile, "That's where we're headin'." _With all this hustle n' bustle don't expect to drive on these here roads._

They casually walked for about 10 minutes and reached the tower where the past version of Taffyta's mom was possibly located. Taffyta hesitated briefly, taking a deep breath, then went inside, followed closely by Rancis, Shanks and the rest of her group. The air was cold inside, when compared to outside by at least 15 degrees, which added to her already forming goosebumps.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Candice is finally awake! And here we have some more info about the goings on of Adrenaline Rush. I'm trying to make it seem as much as possible like it's an actual game :p. I think I'm doing pretty good on that.

To those of you who may be wondering, Candice's outfit choice and hairstyle is inspired by Vanellope and Vannie's, of course. She grew up with those two according to her backstory, after all, but she's not simply a recolor. Her outfit is a bit different stylistically and she **does** have her own unique face.


	85. Taffy Fudge

Taffyta hesitantly walked up to the reception desk inside the giant office building. She smiled at the receptionist, but her face was marked with uncertainty. _What should I say? I guess I should just ask if she happens to know where Taffy Fudge is? I wonder what kind of place this is anyways.._

"Would you like to set up an account?" the receptionist asked with a smile. Her brown hair was rolled up into a tight bun in the back and she wore small a pair of rectangle-framed glasses. On her blue collared button-up shirt was a name tag that read Amelia. _I can tell immediately__. __Those__ eyes __especially__.._

"Account.." Taffyta said, unable to mask her confusion. She looked back over to Shanks for some kind of reassurance. _What kind of account? You would know. I don't want to look like a total idiot._

"It's alright, Taffyta," Shanks said with a chuckle as he stepped up to the desk, "Sorry, Amelia. These folks are new around here." He turned back to Taffyta. "This is also the place where ya get yer cards fer tradin'. We might as well get ya'll set up before findin' Taffy."

"She's your sister, I'm guessing?" Amelia asked with a wry smile while sliding a short form over to her.

"Not quite," Taffyta said with an embarrassed laugh, "But we **are** related." She looked over the form and grabbed the pen offered to her. There were lines for her name, the game she was from, and the role she plays in that game. _I'm glad it doesn't ask all sorts of weird questions._ She quickly wrote down the information, printing and signing her name at the bottom.

"Muttonfudge.." Amelia said, the smile on her face widened as she looked at her and Shanks, "So then you must be **her**." _I know already, sorry. I had to pick on you a bit. Satoru said you __and the others __were coming._

"Seems like everyone knew but me," Shanks said while crossing his arms.

"Well we didn't know if her game was plugged into this arcade, Shanks," Amelia said with a chuckle, "We wouldn't want you getting distracted.." _I only just found out a little while ago myself, don't feel so bad._

"So is she here?" Taffyta asked hopefully, modestly sliding the form back over.

"She's here," Amelia said with a confident smile, "Let's just get the rest of you set up and we'll have someone lead the way."

The group made short work of the forms and each received small green cards with Adrenaline Rush written in light green letters along the top. Their names and what game they were from as well as their account number were embossed along the bottom.

"Right this way," a man in a blue collar shirt said, motioning down a hallway. The group followed him and made a few turns down other hallways and eventually went up an elevator to the fifth floor.

They walked a bit more and eventually stopped in front of a door that had a thin black sign on it that read 'Taffy Fudge'. She was using this as her office until her store in Adrenaline Rush was set up.

"Don't you think that lot will be a little small though?" they could hear a woman ask, "Why wasn't it built from the start? That's what I want to know.. This isn't **The Sims**.."

Taffyta froze, her heart skipping a few beats as a smile pursed her lips. _That's __**so**__ her.._ She inhaled sharply, placing her hand on the name plate. _I still don't know what I should say.._

"Well go on," Rancis said with a knowing smile, lightly pushing on her back. _You've been waiting all this time and you're just standing there. I don't know if I'm ready to see __**my**__ folks or not. It was nice of Amelia to offer to help __us__ though._

"You'd better.." Taffy said from behind the door, which made Taffyta chuckle and reach for the knob, "Alright, I'm expecting guests soon so we'll talk again later.. Uh huh. Stay sweet." She sighed heavily. "I wonder when she'll get here.."

Rancis shook his head and gently grabbed Taffyta's hand, turning the doorknob with her. _I can't believe you're hesitating now of all times. _He pushed open the door slowly, Taffyta having released the doorknob almost instantly.

Taffy was leaning back, sitting in an executive chair with her legs crossed, resting on her desk. She wore a dark grey business suit, but tennis shoes rather than what you might expect from a businesswoman. Like Taffyta, her hair was platinum blonde, but hers was longer and wavy. When she saw who exactly it was who opened her door without knocking, any and all notion of annoyance she had had quickly vanished.

"Taffyta Muttonfudge.." Taffy said with a warm, knowing smile as she got up from her chair, "Satoru said you would be here soon.." She gave Taffyta a long, loving hug as the latter was frozen in place, still finding it hard to believe that her parents, though almost her age, were out and about in this game.

Taffyta let out a sharp, grateful wimper of surprise as Taffy rubbed her back. She hugged Taffy tightly, unable to hold back the tears welling up inside her. "Mom.." she gasped. _You don't look so different from how I remember you.._

Taffy chuckled and said, "It's alright dear, you can call me that.." _You've been waiting a long time.. You'll have a surprise soon enough though._

"I'm seein' double," Shanks said with a chuckle.

"Oh you are **not**," Taffy said with a chuckle, "Our hair is different, see?" _Not to mention our faces are still different, even if it __**is**__ obvious we're related._

"I'm just pickin'," Shanks said with a laugh, "Did you know?"

Taffy shook her head and casually said, "No, not until Satoru told me a while ago." She slowly pulled away to get a better look at her future daughter, softly putting the back of her hand on Taffyta's cheek before running it through her hair. "You're beautiful, sweetie. I hope I'm everything you hoped for.." She chuckled. "Even if it may be a bit weird, coming from someone six years older than you."

"You are.." Taffyta said with a nervous laugh, "Well, except you're a lot younger than what I was expecting."

"By about 20 years," Taffy said with a knowing smirk, "Funny, I know.."

* * *

Candice slowly made her way to the dining room with her family, happily chatting about the things they had done in the past as according to their manufactured memories.

"So you really only **just** made it?" Candice asked with a laugh.

"I was working on it for two weeks, since we knew you would have kept something so **beautiful** and carefully crafted," Ralph said with confidence.. and a nervous laugh.. while rubbing the side of his neck, "I'm a wrecker, so it took a few tries." _I lost track at 255. I never was good at math._

"**Thousands** of tries," Felix said with a laugh. _Er.. Plus one.._

"Yeah, and I could have had it one try** sooner** if a certain** someone** hadn't gotten antsy," Ralph said in an accusatory tone while looking down at Felix_. __Oops doesn't cover it._

"I told you I was sorry," Felix said with a sheepish laugh, "In the end you made it. Twice in a row even." _I'll never live it down, will I?_

"And I love it," Candice said with a smile, "It's beautiful, Ralph.."

"The stuff is so brittle though," Ralph said with a chuckle, "I don't think you'll find anyone else who can punch something and make it a work of art, let alone candy trees."

"Go ahead and gloat, Ralph," Vannie said while hugging him from the side, "You earned it.." _I'll have you make something for me later. I'm not sure what though, __but it'll be grand__._

"I'll admit, I'm impressed too.." Calhoun said wryly, "It's not often you'll hear that from me, so don't get used to it."

"Wait a minute.." Ralph said, stopping in his tracks, "What about your race, kid?"_Shouldn't we be headed __**there**__?_

"Race shmace," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes, "**This** is more important, don't you think?"

"Well **yeah**," Ralph said, "But your friends are stuck waiting on you and King Candy.."

"We could always eat later.." Candice said, "It's not like I'm **starving**. Come on, I'll be there to watch, you know?" _Don't abandon your duty..- _She chuckled. -_for my sake._

Vanellope groaned. "Fine," she said with a sigh, "We're all going to Adrenaline Rush after though. You're coming too, **right**?" _We just met in person, I want to spend __**real**__ time with you._

"Zombie looking forward to it too," Zombie said happily, making sure no one forgets he's there.

"Of course, Vanellope," Candice said with a smile as she picked her up, "You're just the right size.."

"Ah, cut it out," Vanellope said with a laugh. _You're one of the few people I'll allow to pick me up._

"It's so weird how in my memories we used to be the same size.." Candice said with a chuckle, "I'm glad I won't be doing any more aging.." She looked around almost unsure of herself. "I won't be, right? I **am** staying this age, aren't I?" _I don't want to turn into a__n__ old lady while everyone else stays the same age.._

"Of course not," King Candy said with a laugh, there was the slightest hint of apprehensiveness in his voice, "We don't **really** age.. That was just so you could experience growing up.." _I guess that's a natural concern. __A__fter all, we were the same age throughout her 19 years worth of memories._

"I'm glad **I** don't have to worry about growing up **either**," Vanellope said playfully while sticking out her tongue, "I'm sure it must be nice and all though, being an adult, but it's nice knowing I'll always be a kid." _Things seem to only get more difficult for you adults. __I'll have no part of it, thanks._

"So shall we head to Sugar Rush then?" Candice asked with a smile. _That'd be a nightmare, two adult Vanellopes running around. Poor Ralph wouldn't know what to do __with himself__.. __He'd always be worried about flirting with the wrong one._

"Good idea," King Candy(1) said with a chuckle. _Thank the developers we don't have to worry about Vanellope wanting to grow up. That would get real confusing, real quick._

The gang made their way out of Sugar Rush 2, getting stopped at the gateway by a slightly confused Alex.

"How are you guys doing today?" Alex asked with a smile.

"Good," was the common response.

"Glad to hear it," Alex said with a happy nod, "Well.. I'm almost hoping you know the reason I stopped you.." He scratched his head in confusion.

"I'm not on record, I'm guessing?" Candice said with a nervous smile, "I'm.. new.." _In more ways than one.._

"Right.." Alex said with a nervous smile, "Usually this happens when someone is made a part of a game for the first time, so if you can just clarify.."

"Um.." Candice said hesitantly, looking to her father for answers. _I'm not really sure what I should say exactly. This is the first time I've been out of Sugar Rush. I know this guy is important though.._

"She is Candice Kane," King Candy(1) said confidently, "That's C-a-n-d-i-c-e.. K-a-n-e.. She's my daughter." _I didn't expect we would get stopped for this, I suppose it should have been expected though._

"Alright," Alex said while writing into his clipboard, "And who was she before?"

"She's **always** been Candice Kane," King Candy said confidently, "**Always**." _Don't make this difficult._

"They made me," Candice said with a sharp, nervous sigh, trying to keep her smile, "Is there anything wrong with that?" _I hope I __w__on't have to experience __**this**__ again.._

"Of course not.." Alex said humbly, "I apologize for the inconvenience.. Welcome to Litwak's arcade, Candice." He smiled.

"Thanks," Candice said with a relieved smile.

"I'll let you guys go on your way then," Alex said with a smile, "Be sure to enjoy yourself." He disappeared back into the power strip's circuitry in a flash.

"I'm sorry, sweetie.." King Candy(1) said, "I should have expected this.." _There really __**isn't**__ anything wrong with how you were made._

"It's okay.." Candice said with a nervous chuckle, "I'm sure he meant what he said." _I'm just a little different from everyone else, that's all._

"Of course he did," Ralph said reassuringly, giving her a warm smile, "He's not a bad guy."

"Right!" Candice said with a smile, "So Sugar Rush. Let's go." _Now they're worrying about me, __**great**__.._

"Yeah!" Vanellope said excitedly, fist pumping the air as she pulled herself into Candice more tightly with her other arm. _I hope she doesn't have to keep going through stuff like that. Being put on the spot.. It really isn't any different from an actual developer making a character. __What's the big deal if we did it ourselves?_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry about some of the other characters not really having any lines in these recent chapters. I'm just really focusing on the ones that actually have a reason to be focused on in these situations. I'll split the groups into smaller groups to accommodate the others pretty soon so that they can get some spotlight too.

I'm going to keep teasing about Satoru for a while still as well, haha.

There's a pair that by now I'm sure a lot of you are expecting to see in Adrenaline Rush. To that I say, 'Maybe :p?'


	86. Recognized

"So are you going to introduce your friends?" Taffy asked with a smile, "I'm sure they must be tired of being quiet." She chuckled. _Two are obviously from a different game._

"Don't mind us," Garret said with a smile.

"Nonsense, Garak," Shanks said while nudging Garret in the arm, "Ain't no reason to hold back on our account."

Jet snickered. _Should we correct him?_

"**Garret**," Crumbelina said wryly. _I wonder __if he has anyone__ else's name wrong.._

"Shame on you, Shanks," Taffy said teasingly. _Shanks on you.._

"Well I only heard their names **once**," Shanks said defensively, "And all at the same time."

Taffyta smiled and gave a quick rundown of their names.

"So **this** one," Taffy said with a knowing smile, grabbing Rancis by the shoulders, "**This** one is yours."

"Yes, he's my property," Taffyta said teasingly. _That's__ basically what you're saying, you know?_

"Yes, Mistress," Rancis said teasingly, "What are your orders?"

"Shut up, Rancis," Taffyta said with an annoyed smile, rolling her eyes before looking over to Taffy with a sheepish laugh. _I guess I had that one coming._

"You got that from me.." Taffy said with a smile. Her attention then slowly drifted to the two soldiers of the group. "You two aren't from Sugar Rush, are you?" _Garret and Leon.. __Satoru only told me about the Sugar Rush racers coming.._

"We're from a game called Hero's Duty," Garret said, "It's nice to meet you."

"What's it like?" Shanks asked curiously.

"We destroy giant cybernetic bugs that partially transform into whatever they eat," Leon said frankly, "It's a real **blast**.." _At least I can make it to the __top of the tower now__.. __W__hen the players don't suck._

"Yeah, well just keep those out of **this** game," Taffy said with a chuckle, "Sounds like trouble.."

"So you two **are** at least dating already, right?" Taffyta asked with a smile.

Taffy laughed and said, "Well, I wonder about that.. He asked me out the second Litwak left. We didn't meet in our backstories until like a few days ago, I'll have you know." _She gets that from me too.._

"Three," Shanks said, "We met three days ago. And ya never **did** tell me yer answer. Instead ya keep teasin' me about it." He smiled. _I reckon I figgered out yer answer._

"Well I **reckon** ya can guess my answer by **now**, Shanks," Taffy said wryly.

"I **reckon** I can," Shanks said happily while temporarily lifting up his hat, briefly displaying his short blond hair.

"We can leave you four alone to talk if you'd like," Jet said with a knowing smile, "We don't want to ruin the moment for little Taffyta here." He put his hand on Taffyta's shoulder in a teasing manner and squeezed it lightly. _Besides, I'd like to check out more of this game before I start thinking about Turbo Time again. So much for that though. Stop thinking about it, alright? The developer said they'll behave.. but how would she know __anyways__?_

Taffyta turned around and gave Jet an annoyed smile. _I swear it's like he does that __stuff __on purpose. _"I don't want you guys getting lost on me.." She said teasingly.

"If ya'll insist, I could have a couple friends show ya'll around in my stead.." Shanks said as he pulled out another piece of beef jerky and bit into it, "They got a few quirks, of course." _Takes a little getting used to, but they're good guys._

"I didn't mean to run you guys off," Taffy said disappointedly.

"You're not running us off," Leon said with a reassuring smile, "It's just.. Family reunions should be between family, right? Or, well, I guess this is a bit different, but it's the same in principal."

"So where do you keep getting that jerky from?" Jet asked curiously. _I think Leon said something about it before.. I forgot to comment on it._

"Magic," Shanks said sarcastically. _One hell of a superpower._

"He's not joking either," Taffy said with a laugh, "Don't ask how or why.."

"I'll go call 'em," Shanks said, "Ya'll might as well wait here until they arrive." He left the room.

* * *

After briefly being stopped by Ashley and explaining the situation, Ralph's group finally made it to Sugar Rush with Candice.

After an intense race, Vanellope emerged victorious. King Candy(1) managed third place, barely beat out by little Taffyta.

"Hey Tammy," little Taffyta said with a smile, "It's not too often you come see one of our races." _I was __**this**__ close to beating Vanellope.._

"Oh, I'm just tagging along," Calhoun said wryly with her arms crossed. _Racing never was my kind of sport. Well, I don't care much for sports in general._

"We're going to Adrenaline Rush!" Vanellope said excitedly, "Oo~h this is so exciting!" _First we w__o__ke up Candice, and now Adrenaline Rush! __Best day in weeks!_

"Alright, kid. How much sugar have you had?" Ralph asked wryly. _Any time she finds something new.._

"None aside from what was in the pancakes way earlier," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes, "I **do** feel like I've eaten a truckload though." She bounced happily and did a cartwheel around the group. _Of course my win could have something to do with it too._

"Mind if Rancis and I tag along?" little Taffyta asked casually. _I won't get my hopes up about my parents, but s__ince Tammy is going, __and Minty is off with Jubileena and Crumbelina already__._ "Oh, who's this?" She smirked as her eyes fell upon Candice. "I'm Taffyta." _She and Vannie __could pass as sisters.. __Vanellope too, of course._

"My name's Candice," Candice said with a smile, "I'm a new racer in Sugar Rush 2, you could say.."

"In a way she's my sister," Vannie said with a smile. _Could you maybe leave it at that?_

"You certainly look the part," little Taffyta said with a grin, "So~ I'm guessing that you're King Candy's daughter then. Are you an unlockable?" _Candy, Candice.. Vannie's sister.. __It __all adds up to me._

"That's right," King Candy said with a laugh. _Except for the unlockable part. __If that were the case she'd hardly ever race._

"It should be fine if you come with us," Calhoun said casually._ I wonder how many pictures of me are going to get taken today.. __It happens more often when Taffyta is around me, but it couldn't be her, she's in most of them too. So is Rancis.. Where are they hiding? And those pictures__ have an odd way of circulating around the arcade.. At least it's not in the newspaper anymore._

"Yes, come along, Taffyta, Rancis," King Candy(1) said with a laugh. _I'm sure she's dying to see Adrenaline Rush since that's where her dad supposedly works, and where her mom is supposedly visiting. I wish I knew more specifics about the place._

"We appreciate it," little Rancis said with a smirk. _Sounds like fun._ "I'm Rancis by the way, in case you haven't met my counterpart yet."

"It's nice to meet you, Rancis," Candice said with a chuckle.

The eleven moseyed all the way to Adrenaline Rush's gateway and went inside. It was a fast bullet train ride, hardly worthwhile to even sit down.

They hardly had time at all to take in the sights before someone caught their attention.

"Ralph! Perfect timing!" a man's voice called out from behind a giant, orange boar which was fast approaching the exit. There was a hint of worry in his voice, clearly due at least partially to the fact that he was unable to catch up to it. "Would you stop that thing before it gets out?" _We don't need it dying out in the wiring.._

"Someone you know, Ralph?" Vannie asked curiously. _I know __**I've**__ never seen him.._

"Beats me.." Ralph said with a confused shrug before he extended his large open palms into the giant boar's face, stopping it in place, just barely making Ralph's feet slide backward. _He's definitely got some size and weight to him. __I better make sure it doesn't get to any of them. _In one swift motion he grabbed the boar by its head and slammed it into the ground as hard as he could.

"Way to go, Ralph," Vannie scoffed, "I think you might have killed it, you know?" _What if he only wanted you to keep it still?_

"If I did, it'll regenerate," Ralph huffed. _I didn't have a lot of time to react.._

"So this game is a tiny bit dangerous," little Taffyta said with a smirk, "Good thing we have Ralph here." _Nothing he can't handle._

The man finally caught up, breathing desperately, now trying to catch his breath as well. "I owe you one," he said, finally able to speak more calmly, "Nice outfit by the way.. Hey Felix, almost didn't see you.." He finally breathed one last deep, calming breath. He had dark brown spiky hair. He wore a dark brown blazer and cargo pants. Under his open blazer was an orange t-shirt. "Aw, wicked! Is that a **zombie**?!" He smiled excitedly. _A __**real**__ zombie! So __**awesome**__! This arcade gets my seal of approval instantly._

"Zombie might be," Zombie said with an exaggerated shrug.

"So how do you know Ralph, Mister?" Vanellope asked with an eyebrow raised. _Now there's a word I haven't used in a while.._

The man stopped and pondered for a moment. _Come to think of it.._ "Yeah.. I think I get it now.. You're not from this game.." _I did think it was a bit odd, they looked different._

"What tipped you off?" little Taffyta asked while rolling her eyes. _It's pretty obvious._

"Oh my land.." Felix said distantly, the gears in his head were clearly hard at work, "We're in this game, aren't we?" He perked up slightly. "**Ralph **and** I**. We're characters in this game, right?!" _That's the only way this makes sense!_

"Bingo!" the man said with a smile while pointing to Felix, "The name's Ging, Ging Orangeboar."

* * *

**Author's Note:** The pair I was talking about in the previous chapter's author's note? Not Ralph and Felix. Guess again.


	87. Timeline Wankery?

**Author's Note:** Names with (AR) at the end are to denote that the character is from Adrenaline Rush. Only used when there's a counterpart from another game.

* * *

"They'll be here any time now," Shanks said with a smile as he reentered the room, "I'll introduce ya'll, come on."

"I'll see you guys later," Taffyta said with a smile. _I appreciate this. I still don't know what I should say to them, but Rancis will be here too, he can help me out a bit._

"Stay sweet," Crumbelina said wryly.

"Keep on," Taffyta said with an annoyed smile. _Only me and Mom can say that._

Shanks left the room with Jet, Crumbelina, Leon, Minty, Garret, and Jubileena, and headed back down to the front of the building.

"Sorry I couldn't accommodate ya'll more.." Shanks said.

"You helped us out plenty," Jet said with a smile.

"Yeah," Minty said excitedly, "I never would have guessed you were Taffyta's dad though." She giggled. "You just seem so different from what I expected."

"I bet.." Shanks said with a chuckle, "I do feel bad though, about what the me in her backstory did.. I don't see how I could have avoided it either.."

"It's okay.." Minty said warmly, "She had us growing up. **Especially** Rancis. She wasn't alone or anything, even though she did wish you were there. Or in Taffy's case, there **more**."

"Right.." Shanks said, "Oh here they come!" He smiled and waved at the two men approaching. _Right on time to save me from this subject._

The four racers and two soldiers turned around in surprise at who they saw approaching.

"This is quite a group you've got here, Shanks," Ralph(AR) said with a warm smile. _I get that look a lot. I know, I'm tall.._

"Think you can tone it down a bit, brother?" Felix(AR) asked with a laugh, "I think you're scaring them."

Ralph(AR) chuckled and shrunk down to around Ralph's height. His arms were also no longer freakishly big at this height, though he remained heavyset and muscular. "That should do it. I always forget to switch out of fight mode. It's comfortable." _Like taking socks off after a work day comfortable. __There was a time when that size was **normal** for me, after all. Not even that long ago, about a year or so.. 9 feet is just too much though._ "Something wrong?" He chuckled again in embarrassment.

"It's just that.." Jet said, "Well you **are** from **this** game, right?" _Ralph's arms are.. **normal**. Now **that's** a sight to see._

"That's right," Felix(AR) said cheerfully, "I'm guessing you recognize us from Fix-It Felix Jr." He chuckled and puffed out his chest with pride. _I could see myself getting used to something like that. Fix-It Felix Jr., from the **game** Fix-It Felix Jr.. It has a nice ring to it._

"Yeah, yeah," Ralph(AR) said dismissively, "So we don't **all** get games named after ourselves." He looked over to the group. "You'll never hear the end of it."

"I bet you can hardly wait to meet your Fix-It Felix Jr. counterparts," Jet said with a chuckle, "They're quite popular around here, I'll have you know."

"**Really**?" Ralph(AR) said with interest, "Well I'm glad to hear I've had it so well here. I'll find time for that soon enough. Right now we're going to show you around, right? Being the good hosts that we are and whatnot."

"It wasn't **always** that way," Leon said, "But it's been all good for a while now." _I don't know when I forgave him for that whole armor thing. Ah well._

"Well I'll be goin' back to my girlfriend and our **daughter** now," Shanks said with a wink, "Ya'll take care." _I must have been programmed to be all fatherly-like in case she ever came around. It makes sense to me. _He went back inside.

"When he found time to have a kid is beyond me," Ralph(AR) scoffed, "So I'm guessing you've got your cards by now at least.. You know, for trading and stuff." _You don't want to go anywhere without that card in this game._

"Yep," Garret said with a smile, his hands resting in his jacket pockets. _I guess Ralph is Ralph no matter the game._

"So what do you do here, Ralph?" Crumbelina asked curiously. _He fights, apparently. Does he have a similar job to Shanks?_

"Ralph and I are from the monster truck competition game mode," Felix(AR) said with a laugh.

"It's basically just us driving over ramps, doing tricks," Ralph(AR) said, "You know, that kind of thing. The best part is wrecking the arena though."

"At least I don't have to worry about fixing **that** too," Felix(AR) said while rolling his eyes, "So.. You guys know us already, sort of. What about your names?"

This time it was Leon who gave the name rundown.

"So what holds your interest most about the game so far?" Felix(AR) asked, "I suppose we should start there."

"We were hoping to find a place to eat," Jubileena said, "But we haven't exactly done any trading yet." _Since food isn't free in this game.._

"I'll tell you what," Felix(AR) said cheerfully.

"Here it comes," Ralph(AR) said wryly. _Spending his money already._

"I'll pay your way this once," Felix(AR) said with a smile, "It's not that difficult once you've got some starting capital. Prices fluctuate on ingredients depending on availability.."

"He's a bit of a merchant," Ralph(AR) said while rolling his eyes, "I rather go out and hunt nonstop."

"And I'm not saying that's a bad thing," Felix(AR) said playfully while nudging Ralph(AR)'s arm.

"We appreciate it, Felix," Garret said with a smile.

"I wonder how Sarge would feel if she saw this Felix though," Leon said with a chuckle. _This one's closer to her height. Of course she wouldn't think of switching over, it'd just get a good reaction out of her._

"She?" Felix(AR) asked, a curious smile plastered across his face.

"What? He gets a girlfriend or something?" Ralph(AR) scoffed.

"Wife, actually," Leon said wryly.

"Relax, your counterpart has a girlfriend," Minty said happily.

"Well of course **I** do," Ralph(AR) said confidently, "But this I've **got** to see.. Later on though. Food first. It's his treat."

"Don't run me broke, Ralph!" Felix said playfully, "Or you'll pay me back double." _You think I'm joking?_

"Alright, so we'll be heading to Bistro Baklava then," Ralph(AR) said, "Don't let the name fool you, there's tons of food there, not just desserts."

* * *

"So what are they like?!" Vannie asked Ging excitedly, "Two **Ralphs**!" _Now that'd be **amazing** if I could get away with it. It's too bad I can't._

"**Two**!" Vanellope said mischievously, "I wonder who's stronger." _Ralph vs. Ralph. Wizard vs. wizard._

"C'mon, you two," Ralph said while rolling his eyes, "We're probably about the same."_ I don't know what kind of thoughts these girls are having, but I'm not so sure I want to know._

"But one Ralph is already pretty amazing," Vanellope said jokingly as she hugged his head from atop his shoulder, "Imagine the wreckage!"

"I'm gonna wreck it," Vannie said teasingly as she hugged Ralph's arm, "Does the Ralph from this game say that too?"

"Occasionally, during gameplay," Ging scoffed, "So I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you two are the same character, but from two different games." _These two crowned guys are about the same height though. Are they maybe twins?_

"Vanellope von Schweetz, Sugar Rush," Vanellope said with an excited nod. _It should be fairly obvious we're the same character but in different games. No need to ask._

"Likewise, Sugar Rush 2," Vannie said with a smile.

"Zombie from The House of the Dead," Zombie said with a smile as he extended his hand for a handshake.

"**Awesome**," Ging said excitedly as he gladly shook Zombie's hand, "Sorry, I'm a bit of a halloween fanatic." _Did she say von Schweetz?_

"You've definitely **got** to be Gloyd's dad," little Taffyta said with a smirk.

"Er.. Well I don't have any kids yet," Ging said with a laugh. A halloween ringtone played on his phone. "Woops, hang on." He chuckled and walked off a few feet.

"Right in the middle of introductions," King Candy said with a sigh.

"I wonder who he's talking to," Candice said curiously.

Ging walked back a few moments later, slightly confused, and said, "Okay, well I think I understand now at least.. It's a bunch of timeline wankery. So Sugar Rush 2 is set 10 years after Sugar Rush, but our game is set 10 years **before **it.."

"So wait," little Taffyta said, "Who all is in this game? Are **all** of our parents here? I mean, before they had us, of course.."

"I couldn't say," Ging said, "Maybe? You'd have to ask Satoru something like that."

"Satoru?" King Candy asked, "Who's he?"

"I'm not really the one who should be explaining it," Ging said, "I could bring you to him if you'd like. He's over at the castle."

"Is Lemma still queen?" King Candy asked. _Why would this Satoru guy be at the castle? 20 years ago it was Lemma who ruled.._

"That's correct," Ging said, "I'm sure she would like to meet you as well, um.. Right, introductions were cut off."

They finished introducing themselves.

"King Candy, I see.." Ging said, "I had thought you two might be twins or something, but I guess not."

"I have a question," Felix said almost hesitantly.

"Fire away," Ging said jokingly, "This is all so fascinating."

"Are the Niceland apartments in this game too, by any chance?" Felix asked. _Gene and the others would be happy to at least know one way or the other._

"Yes," Ging said with a modest smile, "You and Ralph still live there."

"Wait, so civilization was really that close?" Ralph asked skeptically, "Odd that I never would have found that out after living there as long as I did." He looked at Felix. _You went there looking for me, why didn't you say anything?_

"Well don't look at **me**, Ralph," Felix said with a shrug, "I'm just as clueless.." _Our backstory could have changed for all we know. It's not like it was ever explicitly stated on the cabinet or anything._

"So about that trip to the castle," Calhoun said, "You still up for that?"

"Of course," Ging said with a chuckle, "You'll have to ride in the back though."

"In the back?" Ralph asked, just as confused as the others, "The back of what?"

"My ride, of course," Ging said with a mischievous smirk. He turned away from them and clapped twice, his monster truck spawned a few inches in the air 10 yards in front of him and fell, shaking the ground slightly. It was black with a jack-o-lantern painted on the hood as well as small green and orange bats painted along the sides. "This is 'The Trickster'." He beamed with pride. "Hop on."

Ralph shrugged and climbed in the back, then helped Vanellope and Vannie in.

"It'll get a little cramped," Vannie said mischievously, "Let me sit in your lap, Ralph." _Don't say no, please?_

"Alright," Ralph said with a smile, opening his arms_, _"Come on." _This will be a welcome distraction on this little road trip. **Very** welcome._

Vannie had a look in her eyes that said, "Yes!" _I wish we were alone though, as much fun as this is._

King Candy groaned silently. _Fine, do what you want. I'll just have to get over the fact that she's all grown up. Way to be on your best behavior, Ralph._ He fought the urge to scoff.

"Zombie call shotgun!" Zombie said as he climbed into the passenger seat, rather than sit in the back. He smiled at Ging who was already sitting in the driver's seat. "Zombie hope Ging not mind."

"Dude, it's an honor," Ging said jokingly as he pulled open the back window, "You guys comfortable back there?"

"Hardly," Candice said with a laugh. _We're practically packed like sardines back here. I don't want to sit on Dad's lap, I'm not a kid anymore. Vannie has it good._

"Are you sure this is safe?" King Candy(1) asked worriedly, "Monster trucks aren't known for their safety, are they?"

"Relax, KC," Ging said with a mischievous smile, "I'll be sure to drive carefully."

They drove off, avoiding several types of rampaging animals, strange plants bearing raw and cooked meats as fruit, as well as other fantastical sights. Eventually they reached a large grey bricked castle not unlike what you would see in a history book.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Satoru will be in the next chapter. At least that's the plan.


	88. Satoru

Taffyta laughed nervously, as it was just her and Rancis in the room with her mother. _What do I say? My (kind of) mom is standing not even three feet away from me.._

"So how have you been?" Taffy asked with a nervous chuckle. _She gets that from me too.. I guess I'll start things off._

"Good.." Taffyta said sheepishly, "You could have picked a better nanny though. She wasn't exactly the greatest.." _Not abusive or anything, just way too inattentive. Hardly 'there' at all except for preparing meals and stuff. I don't know why I never told Mom about that.._

"Oh.." Taffy said, "Sorry.. I must have been really busy.." _Rio certainly did a number on us.._

"It's okay," Taffyta said while shaking her head slowly, "I don't have to worry about her anymore anyways. It's the me from Sugar Rush **1** that has to deal with her right now."

"There's another Taffyta running around?" Taffy asked, a small, sheepish smile creeping on her face, "How old is she?" _I have to meet her too.. I **want** to meet her..  
_

"She's 9 years old," Taffyta said sheepishly, "I go play with her sometimes, but I guess I'm guilty of being too distant as well.." _I'm just always getting swept away with my Sugar Rush 2 friends. It's hard to find time for everyone.._

"She knows where to find you," Rancis said warmly while giving Taffyta a one-armed hug.

"You're a real sweetheart, aren't you?" Taffy said wryly. _I think I see why she picked you._

"I try to be," Rancis said sheepishly. _You're making it a little harder on me to cheer her up though when you say it like that._

"I'm back," Shanks said with a smile as he entered the room, "Ralph and Felix are showin' 'em around."

"Ralph and Felix already know their way around this game?" Taffyta asked confusedly, "It hasn't even been plugged in a day yet.." _I didn't know they were even **here** yet._

"Well I know **my** way around just fine," Shanks scoffed, "Why wouldn't **they**?"

"I get it," Rancis said with a smug grin, "See the Ralph and Felix **we** know are from a game called Fix-It Felix Jr. But they're in this game too, right?" _Change of subject. Nice timing, Shanks!_ _We **are** all from TobiKomi games, so it does make sense. I guess it's their way of doing a sequel. I hope I'm right in my guess though.  
_

"Just about everyone gets a double these days, it seems," Taffy said with a laugh. _I guess that's to be expected in an arcade that Rio decided to visit personally.  
_

"I wonder if Leon, Garret, and Tammy get doubles too.." Taffyta wondered aloud, "Hero's Duty was technically developed by TobiKomi, even if it **was** published by Wreck-It Studios.." _It would be pretty cool to have another Tammy especially.. No offense to the boys.  
_

"Those names don't ring a bell.." Shanks said, "So prolly not."

"Oh well," Taffyta said with a laugh, "It was worth asking." _It would probably be hard to make something like their game make sense with **our** game's world. Aliens and stuff like that.._

* * *

Jet's group followed the Adrenaline Rush versions of Ralph and Felix on foot for about ten minutes and eventually came to a stop at Bistro Baklava, their five star restaurant of choice. It was a very luxurious two story building. It was made out of smooth, bleached white bricks, and 'Bistro Baklava' was spelled out in large, blue, cursive letters at the top of the building.

"Just don't order anything **too** expensive please," Felix(AR) said sheepishly, "I may have a bit of money, but I'm far from what you'd call **rich**." _We're all given a little starting money since we live in this game. I'd like to not burn through it so quickly. I need to have something to trade with after all.  
_

"Sure thing," Jet said with a smile, "So about what price range should we shoot for when we go in?"

"Hmm.." Felix(AR) said, "Okay, so up to 2,500 cherries would be fine. It should give you a taste of what this place has to offer." _That'll be easy enough for me to make back._

"Cherries?" Jubileena asked with a smile. _I like the sound of that._

"Ah," Felix(AR) said with a chuckle, "That's just what the currency is called. Don't ask me why though."

With that they went inside. The walls were painted a soft off-white, and there were a few large paintings on the walls. The floors were made of a rich, dark wood that gleamed faintly under hanging lamps, which were covered by blue cylindrical shades. They were escorted to a long, empty, mahogany table which was covered by a pure white table cloth. Under the tables were smooth blue rugs with gold woven into them. Eight mahogany chairs were set for them.

"Thank you," Felix(AR) said warmly with a slight bow of his head to the waitress who had escorted them to their table. The waitress smiled and walked off to escort another set of guests who entered after them.

"I feel so out of place," Leon said with a chuckle as he and the others slowly sat down. _Like we should be in dress clothes or something. Look at this place.  
_

"Don't worry about that," Ralph(AR) said with a laugh as he casually leaned back into his chair, "We're the types that usually come here in the first place. It's not called Adrenaline Rush for nothing."

"Now's about the time where one **might** expect someone to come busting in the doors, making a ruckus," Felix(AR) said while rolling his eyes, "But the customers are a **little** more civilized than that at least."

A brief look around the room showed them that most customers were wearing 'adventuring' outfits.

"May as well take a look at the menu then, I suppose," Garret said with a chuckle. He whistled in a low tone. _50,000 'cherries'.. This stuff can get crazy expensive, I guess. I don't even know how hard it is to get one cherry. Or maybe I do..  
_

"You can sort the menu by price if you press on that little arrow in the price column," Ralph(AR) said with a wink, "In case you want to get the most out of Felix's offer." _That's what I'd do in their place._

"Well aren't you just being **super helpful** today, Ralph?" Felix(AR) said with an annoyed smile.

"You two get along well," Crumbelina beamed before taking a look at her menu. _I don't often see Ralph and Felix interacting with each other, but I assume it would be something like this for the Fix-It Felix Jr. pair. I'm curious how they'll react when they meet each other._

"Oh, yeah," Ralph(AR) scoffed, "Of course, it was a bit **different** last year though. But that's all in the past."

"You sure did bring it up though, Ralph," Felix(AR) scoffed, "We might as well tell you, since he's itching to talk about it.. You see, Ralph used to live in the woods. It's where the Niceland apartments are now. Gene, the mayor of Niceland, didn't exactly ask his permission to build an apartment building there. Instead he went straight to the queen to acquire the land. Of course, we didn't know anyone was living there until later."

"He should have checked first," Ralph(AR) said pointedly, "I had some good fun though, wrecking the place.. Never would have thought I had a brother though."

Felix(AR) sighed and fidgeted with his hands. "I only found out when Dad died.." He frowned, "For one reason or another it took time for me to find the place. Don't ask why. And I got a job as their maintenance man who got stuck fixing what **this guy** wrecked." He chuckled. "Some way for brothers to meet."

They talked a bit more about Ralph and Felix's backstories and finally placed their orders.

Jet ordered octopus balls in a sweet and sour orange sauce.

Crumbelina decided to try a Japanese dish as well, since that's what Jet was going with. She ordered yakisoba, which is basically fried noodles in a sweetened, thickened variant of worcestershire sauce.

Minty ordered grilled king salmon glazed in a maple syrup and soy sauce mix.

Leon ordered a porterhouse steak medium rare, moderately coated in steak sauce.

Jubileena ordered pork tenderloin glazed in cherry sauce.

Garret wanted to order the same thing as Jubileena but she insisted he order something else so she could try some of whatever it is. Instead he ordered imperial sardines in a rich hot sauce. He insisted they didn't stink, but the looks on everyone else's faces (except for Ralph(AR)'s) said otherwise.

Ralph(AR) ordered 'orangeboar', remembering his days hunting them before the Niceland apartments came around. Of course the ones he had hunted back then were of a much smaller breed.

Felix(AR) ordered caramel glazed chicken. _I don't want to seem as though I'm ordering something for its sugar content.. That 20% honey, honey ham looks delicious though.._

"You said you wanted to trade," Garret said wryly as he held a bite of sardine over to Jubileena who reluctantly, and almost spitefully accepted it.

"That's the first and last time I have sardines," Jubileena said with a sigh, "The hot sauce saved it somewhat."

"So 'orangeboar' is an actual food then?" Minty asked with a giggle, "I always thought it was just this weird last name the developers came up with for Gloyd."

"It still could be," Crumbelina said wryly.

"It's good though," Ralph(AR) said with a chuckle, "True to its name, it has a natural, slight orange taste to it." _Gloyd?_

* * *

The guards escorted Ralph, Vannie and the others into the castle and over to the throne where they were met with Queen Lemma de Bramble.

"Greetings," Queen Lemma said in a regal tone, while sitting on her throne, "We were awaiting your arrival. I am Queen Lemma de Bramble. You may call me Queen Lemma." She wore a stereotypical purple and gold colored queen outfit. She had grey, curly hair which was partially obscured by a crown.

"It is an honor to meet you, Queen Lemma," King Candy said with a bow, "I am King Candy, ruler of Sugar Rush 2." _She wouldn't know me since it's 20 years in the past here._

"Truly an honor," King Candy(1) said with a bow, "I am King Candy, ruler of Sugar Rush." _She wouldn't know me since it's 10 years in the past here._

"I'm Wreck-It Ralph," Ralph said. _Do you really need to know what game I'm from?_

"Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun..Fix-It," Calhoun said, "of Hero's Duty.

"**Still** not used to adding Fix-It?" Felix asked with a chuckle. Calhoun shushed him. "Fix-It Felix Jr., ma'am. From the **game** Fix-It Felix Jr."

"President Vanellope von Schweetz of Sugar Rush," Vanellope said happily while waving from atop Ralph's shoulder.

"Princess Vanellope von Schweetz of Sugar Rush 2," Vannie said with a smile, "Just call me Vannie." _She's so cute. President indeed._

"The name's Candice," Candice said with a smile, "Also from Sugar Rush 2." _Should we really be talking to a queen so casually?_

"Taffyta Muttonfudge of Sugar Rush," little Taffyta said with a shrug. _Since most of us are being so blase about our names and stuff.._

"Rancis Fluggerbutter of Sugar Rush," little Rancis said with a smirk. _She's not what I expected._

Zombie shrugged and said, "Zombie from The House of the Dead."

"You know who I am," Ging said with a chuckle. _This bunch is great.._

"Not much for formalities," Queen Lemma said with a knowing smirk, "Fine by me. How can I help you guys?"

"Er.. Yes.." King Candy said with a nervous laugh, "We were just looking to explore the game, but now we're curious who this Satoru character is."

"They're here?!" a man's excited voice called out from behind the blue curtain behind Queen Lemma's throne. He quickly poked his head out of the curtain and nearly tripped before catching himself. He was a young Japanese man with neatly combed black hair and thin rectangle-framed glasses. He wore a blue business suit without a coat. He had a very light blue, long-sleeved, button-up shirt he wore without a tie. "I'm Satoru." He laughed nervously. _They're really here! From other games! This is so exciting!_

"Easy there, Mister," Vanellope said with a laugh, "You're going to bust a lip like that." _And they call **me**_ _excitable?_

Satoru laughed as he attempted to **calmly** walk over to the group. His agitated nerves did nothing to assist him in that venture, however. "I can't properly express how happy I am to finally meet all of you. Well, there are still **many** others to finally meet, of course.." He chuckled. _Ralph! Felix! Vanellope! Calhoun! It's like a family reunion of sorts, isn't it?! There are some others too that I don't recognize.  
_

"Are you going to tell us who you are or not?" Vanellope asked impatiently. _I'd like to find out today._

"Very well, you cheeky little imp," Satoru said with an excited chuckle, "I'm Satoru, as I've said. Satoru Inaba. I am, or rather I **was** one of the owners of TobiKomi." _At least until my real-life counterpart died and I was made in his likeness._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so that's who Satoru is. Mystery solved.

As for the meals Jet and the others ordered, I figured that I would give you guys some sort of idea what kind of foods the place had to offer. It's kind of normal food, but it's fairly cheap as far as Adrenaline Rush cuisine goes. So yeah, nothing too fantastical. I don't know if you guys are even interested in little details like that to be honest. I'll probably briefly describe individual ingredients that pop up later on as they're encountered, but nothing as major as what I did here. Because believe it or not I had to spend time deciding what each character would order, trying to make each one fit their personality or at least sound like it'd taste good. Except for the sardines. That was just a joke.


	89. Fixes?

Taffy gently bit her bottom lip in thought before asking, "Do you think that the younger you from Sugar Rush would be happy to meet us? It's probably a stupid question.." She laughed sheepishly. _To hold her in my arms.. Why is it that I suddenly want that so badly? Like I was programmed with that in mind in the first place and I just didn't know it until now.. I don't know what I would do if she wants nothing to do with me._

"She would game over from excitement," Taffyta said with a sheepish laugh, "We both missed you two so much. If she met you she wouldn't want to let go." She wiped her eyes. "See? I'm crying again. It's always like this." _I **hate** crying, but it won't stop.  
_

"Thank you," Taffy said as she hugged Taffyta tightly, "It's funny." She laughed as she began to cry. "I didn't know anything about either of you until now, but now all I want to do is get to know you."

"Me too," Shanks said with a chuckle as he hugged the two of them, "I may not be the cryin' type like ya'll, but I'm right happy that you want anything to do with me after everything I, or he, did.." _Satoru or Rio, whichever one of you made me, I thank ya.._

Taffyta laughed and hugged the two tightly. _His accent is maybe a little over the top, but that's not necessarily a bad thing._

"Why don't we go see her now?" Rancis asked with a warm smile, "The younger Taffyta.." _I'm so happy for you, Taffyta. I wonder if my parents here would be so happy to see me though..  
_

"Would she still be in her game?" Taffy asked as she broke away from Taffyta and Shanks. _I'd love to go see her. As soon as possible.. _She wiped her eyes.

"She could have come here looking for you," Rancis said while rubbing the side of his neck, "Since in her backstory you're both here.." _I'm sure that if she didn't think about it herself, the younger me would have suggested and even insisted on it. I just hope if they're here, they didn't come alone._

Shanks blinked and said, "Hang on, I'll ask Satoru if he's seen 'er. He's been up in the.. Well he's been keepin' an eye on things for us." He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. After a moment Satoru answered. "Hey uh, sorry to bother ya, Satoru, but could ya tell me if Taffyta from the first Sugar Rush game is in Adrenaline Rush right now?" He listened intently for a moment. "Oh **really**? Fantastic. We'll be right over. Sayonara." He beamed and put his phone away. "We got somewhere to go, c'mon!" _He seemed a bit down, but he can handle whatever it is, I'm sure._

* * *

"So what do you think so far?" Felix(AR) asked cheerfully. _It's good right? And that was cheap stuff._

"Well, aside from that bite of sardine, what I had was pretty good," Jubileena said. _I'm a sucker for anything with cherry though._

"Nothing's wrong with sardines," Garret said with a smirk, "And I don't know why you guys acted like they stink." _They smelled good, in fact._

"I never had octopus balls before," Jet said with a satisfied smile, "but it was pretty good. That yakisoba too." _Thanks for the bite, by the way. You hearing this by any chance?_

"Yeah, pretty good," Crumbelina said with a chuckle and subtle nod. _Not sure why. It's kind of weird._

"I love steak, so this place gets an A+ from me," Leon said with a laugh.

"Delicious," Minty said with a giggle. _It makes me want to get a bu~nch of 'cherries' to get something expensive, just to taste it. Those S or whatever rank ingredients must be **super** delicious. S for Super, that sounds good. Or maybe it's Special? Who knows? _She grinned.

"Sounds like it was money well spent," Ralph(AR) said with a chuckle, "So what would you guys like to see next?"

"I was wondering.." Garret said with a sly grin, "Where can we get ourselves a monster truck? Shanks had this pretty sweet one that we came to this town in."

"We've each got one as well, you know? Me and Ralph," Felix(AR) said cheerfully, "For that you'd have to first pass a driving test.. I know you racers are probably pretty slick with karts, but a monster truck in the wrong hands could be devastating to people traveling on foot." _It wouldn't do anything to buildings because of the invisible walls, but people would be at your mercy if they're walking._

"It's really no big deal though," Ralph(AR) said with a chuckle, "Most of the information, like how to actually drive, gets downloaded into your character profile." He tapped his temple.

"That's not dangerous, is it?" Leon asked, "Tampering with code is risky business.." _I somehow fumbled through a few weeks ago, but it was all luck. I'm glad I didn't have to do what Calhoun did, fixing the Cy-bugs and whatnot. I'd have messed that up for sure._

"I'm sure you must have experienced something similar in your games," Ralph(AR) said while cocking an eyebrow, "Things as simple as which fork to use while eating certain dishes and the like." _Maybe this is something more advanced than what their games do? For sure at **least** Sugar Rush 2 would have it._

"It's just the game's way of not leaving you hanging," Felix(AR) said with a chuckle, "It's completely safe."

"So how long has Hero's Duty been out?" Ralph(Ar) asked.

"About six months now," Garret said, "If I remember correctly, I think it was October 23rd." _Which was also the day Set took control of me. I'm surprised Loya hasn't asked Jet to do anything yet, come to think of it.._

"Yeah, it was October 23rd," Jet said with a slow nod. _I was there.._

"Well I'm sure that your game probably has something like it," Felix(AR) said warmly, "Anyways, what matters is that you have nothing to worry about as far as that is concerned. It goes into your memory, not anything like character attributes or skills." _At least that's what Satoru said when we asked him about it._

* * *

Ralph's group slowly took in what the very excitable young man said. It was extremely hard to believe, and even that was putting it mildly. How could someone like him possibly be one of the biggest contributors to their very worlds, their very existences?

"Yeah right," Vanellope said with a laugh. _There's no way someone like this is capable of programming us._

"How would you like me to prove it, Vanellope?" Satoru asked in a pleading, yet excited way. _Leave it to Vanellope to speak her mind._

"Alright," Vanellope said coldly, narrowing her eyes at him, "Tell me your feelings about my and Vannie's backstory." _If you're our developer, not only should you know our history, but you should also explain yourself._

"I-I'm sorry about it.." Satoru said sincerely, "If Rio and I had known you guys were alive at the time we would have made things right before your game was released.." He paced back and forth slowly in front of the group, massaging his forehead in thought. "I only found out nearing the **end** of Adrenaline Rush's development. It's why I'm **here**." _I had a heart attack and later died in the hospital, or so Rio says. Probably from the shock of finding out.. I had a bad heart already for years. So sad that I had died before Adrenaline Rush could even be released. The real me must have been so heartbroken. Leaving not only the game unfinished, but leaving Rio alone as well.. The development teams we oversee don't really count for much._ "It was too late for me to fix things.." _It's hard to fix things from 'the other side' when you're dead._

"How do you expect to fix dead parents?" Vannie asked seriously. _I think I know how._ "Well.. I guess since Gloyd's dad is here, **all** of our parents are." _I do want to meet them. Badly.._ "But even then.. It's not quite the same, you know?" _I guess he really was a developer.. But what'd he do? Make himself a character? Is that normal?_

Candice looked over to Vannie, listening intently. _That's right.. We're not **really** sisters, are we? Even if we do consider each other as such. What's the harm if she considers them as parents though? Would it be any different to how we are? _She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Satoru answered.

"Is it worse than doing nothing?" Satoru asked somberly while fidgeting with his hands, "I **know** it's not the same." He sighed frustratedly. "But it's all we could do. We even included Dr. Brad Scott as an Easter egg as well, in case the arcade this game was plugged into also had Hero's Duty.. Which I see it does." _I feel especially bad for suggesting that to be her backstory.. Rio really should be here to help explain this. Where is she? She's the one who thought out the backstories for the most part. I just helped brainstorm. She insisted on giving each character a brief personal history, but it's backfiring on us here.. She must feel even worse than I do about this..  
_

Calhoun inhaled sharply. _Why? Why bring Brad back? That wound was almost fully healed and here he comes to rip it open again. It's not really even **him** in the first place. I **killed** the real one._ "You should **not** have done that." she said bitterly, blowing her hair out of her eyes, even though it meant showing the tears that were forming at the corners of her eyes, "I appreciate the thought, but I'm **happily married **to Felix now. You'll have to find someone else for him to play house with."

Felix smiled sadly. _That's a relief. But all the same, I feel bad about this. It's like I'm coming between them._

"Don't even think about it like that, Felix," Calhoun said sternly, looking down at him. _None of this is your fault. And I **wouldn't** be happier with him. "_I hardly even **know** the guy other than a few flashes of dates he and I supposedly went on, and him saying I'm a dynamite gal in each of those instances.."

"O-oh.." Satoru said solemnly, "I didn't expect something like this.." _With Felix no less.._ "I-I can do something about this. Just.. Just give me a moment to think." He continued pacing. _This was supposed to **fix** everything.. Leave it to Felix to fix things first.. But now **my** fix could wreck that.._ Suddenly his phone started ringing. _Not right now, Shanks.._ He sighed and answered. "Hello?" He listened intently and looked over to little Taffyta who appeared to be in deep thought. He looked away. "Yeah, at the castle." _Hopefully **this** fix holds.. Well, Taffy and Shanks would have been in the game anyways, just like all of the Sugar Rush racers' parents.. But Rio made them want to bond with their kids, just in case.. She seemed to know what she was doing. _"Sayonara.." _What should I do about Brad though? He'll be heartbroken if he ever meets her.._

Queen Lemma shook her head and sighed. _Satoru, you and Rio really shouldn't have jumped the gun on your 'fixes'. Oh well.. _She got up off her throne and slowly walked over to Vanellope and Vannie with her hands gently clasped together in front of her stomach. "I know this is perhaps not the best of times, but I would like to speak with the two of you in private. Would that be alright?"

"Depends.." Vannie said, "What for?" _She's a little shorter than I expected, but still taller than Dad._

"It's about your family, here in Adrenaline Rush.." Queen Lemma said with a soft, uncertain smile.

"Can Ralph come?" Vanellope asked cautiously from his shoulder, "Since it's about family.." _Whether the parents from my backstory are alive or not, **nobody** is going to replace these two. Like Tammy said about her backstory, I hardly even know Vincent and Penelope. The only memory of them I have is them dying. Even when I tried remembering them that's all that came up.  
_

"Hmm.." Queen Lemma said thoughtfully while looking Ralph over. Her eyes were filled with warmth, which made it at least **somewhat** less uncomfortable for Ralph, "I suppose that will be alright.." She smiled and her voice softened. "Please, follow me."

The four slowly walked down a long hallway. Ralph, Vannie, and Vanellope exchanged glances as they followed Queen Lemma closely. Soon enough they had made it to the castle's dining room. They went inside and closed the door behind them.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I don't know when exactly I decided on this, but for a while now it's been in my head that the characters who have made love with each other can communicate telepathically. I'm sure that hasn't gone entirely unnoticed. Think of it as their files having formed a connection to each other or something along those lines that they can share information through.


	90. Little Taffyta's Surprise

After the Adrenaline Rush version of Felix paid for their meal, leaving a 40% tip, Jet and the others gratefully followed him and the Adrenaline Rush version of Ralph to the outskirts of town where their monster trucks were parked. They had been parked next to Shanks', though his was no longer there.

Ralph(AR)'s monster truck was 50% larger than both Shanks' and Felix's were. It was painted with crumbling brick wall designs all around, with fists busting into them on both sides. The hood was painted black with a few stray bricks, and his name was painted in large red letters. Its name was 'The Wrecker'.

Felix(AR)'s monster truck was painted black with little trees and the Niceland apartments on both sides. The hood was painted black with a few more little trees, and his name was proudly painted in large gold letters. It's name was 'The Fixer'.

"The Nicelanders did the paint jobs for us," Felix(AR) said with a chuckle.

"Oh wait," Garret said, stopping in place, "I don't suppose it's free to get a monster truck **either**.." _We _**are**_ broke, you know?_

"Riiight.." Ralph(AR) said flatly with a sigh as the realization hit, "Well you guys are just going to have to earn the 100,000 cherries to get one then." He chuckled, "And even then, keep in mind that it will be just your basic monster truck. Upgrades cost extra." _Funny how food can get more expensive than a monster truck. It's just _**that**_ good. Albeit it's not _**that**_ hard to get 100,000 cherries. You just have to know where to grind._

"Upgrades?" Leon asked curiously, his interest in the subject was quite apparent, going by the look on his face.

Minty giggled. _That's so cute, Leon._ Leon rolled his eyes and gave her an annoyed smile.

"Better brakes, handling, you know.." Felix(AR) said with a smile, "They **really** want to sell those memory cards."

"Our game has memory cards too," Jubileena said, "Except ours are almost exclusively for story mode progress." _As far as we've experienced at least._

"You think maybe they're compatible with both games?" Jet asked, "Like say a player puts a Sugar Rush 2 memory card into Adrenaline Rush.." _What would happen?_

"I guess we'll find out one of these days," Ralph(AR) said with a shrug, "I don't really know what that could accomplish, but it'd be another selling point for the memory cards, so it's possible something happens." _It's not really anything to bother Satoru or Rio with._

"Alright, so for now getting a monster truck is out of the question.." Leon said with a sigh. _It'll be so sweet to get my hands on one of those.._

"Is it that difficult to get 100,000 cherries?" Jet asked, "We're not really sure exactly how long that would take."

"Maybe a few days," Felix said with a shrug, "It depends on what ingredients you go for, and how skilled you are at the particular challenge of getting them."

"How much are Mentos worth?" Crumbelina asked, "Shanks said they're the highest ranked item Sugar Rush has to offer.." _Please let it be thousands.. They're supposedly hard to get, right? Normally you would have to climb the mountain, but Leon and Garret can use their glider things for it._

"Well I don't have each ingredient memorized," Felix said, "Since there's thousands of them." He chuckled. "But you can find a listing somewhere."

"Typically.." Jet said, "How much are A rank ingredients worth?"

"For sure you'd get at least 2,500," Ralph(AR) said, "That's basically the lowest of the low for A ranks. Prices fluctuate so it'd be hard to give a definite answer."

"Well, it's a good thing we've got inventories," Jubileena said, "Otherwise we'd be stuck making trips." _And all just for one truck. And the poor kids.. This game was obviously not meant for them to be in. The place is dangerous, and I highly doubt I'll find a kid driving a monster truck._

"You can buy backpacks too, by the way," Ralph(AR) said, "With the cheapest one you get five free slots to store ingredients away in. Wouldn't be but a hundred cherries each."

* * *

Shanks drove over to the castle, chatting with Taffy, Taffyta, and Rancis along the way. It was about a 10 minute drive from Bramble to the castle, while going a safe speed at least. _Last thing I need is to crash into something. It'd be different if it were just me and Taffy since we belong to this game._

"I'll go in and get her, okay?" Taffyta said with a smile, "It's probably best to bring her outside." _She's in there with at the least that Satoru guy. I'm sure she wouldn't want to make a scene in front of strangers. Or at all, really._

"I'll come with you," Rancis said with a knowing smile. _You would get nervous yourself, so I'll be there to take some of the attention off._

"Good," Taffyta said with a laugh, "That's better than going in alone. I just want to make sure she gets surprised around as few people as possible." _While still getting surprised._

Taffyta nervously approached the large, wooden castle doors and knocked. _That knock isn't very loud at all, is it? I hope someone heard it.. I wonder what the queen is like. Is little me with the queen? I don't know how I should act in front of a queen. I mean, we've been pretty relaxed around King Candy, would it be appropriate to treat her the same way? It would be weird if she was all muscular or something, ruling over a game called Adrenaline Rush.. And really, who _**is**_ Satoru? Dad wouldn't give a straight answer on it as if it were top secret. So he's got to be someone important.._ The door creaked open. It was opened by one of the many guards. He smiled and gestured for her and Rancis to enter. _I was kind of hoping for a Sour Bill-type.._ _There's so many human characters here compared to in Sugar Rush.._

The pair of racers hesitantly went inside. Taffyta, naturally, was a nervous wreck. _Oh, it was this group she was with._ She chuckled and eased up. She casually walked up to her small counterpart, bent down slightly, and tapped her on the shoulder. Little Taffyta jolted in place, suddenly yanked from her thoughts.

"Geez, you scared me," little Taffyta said in shock, "What's up?"

"I just-" Taffyta said before getting cut off by Rancis who had an excuse ready. _Okay _**fine**_. _**You**_ say something._

"We just thought we'd take you two out to eat or something," Rancis said with a smile. _Taffyta isn't exactly the best liar. __Although neither am I, really.__ I'll have to apologize for cutting her off.._

"I guess I am a little hungry.." little Taffyta said while rolling her eyes, "But we can't just leave.." _Tammy is having an important conversation, and Vanellope, Vannie, and Ralph went off with the queen.._

"Go ahead, Taffyta," Calhoun said, "You don't have to worry about us. I'll let you know if we hear anything important, okay?" She looked over to Satoru. _Would you stop pacing already, Satoru? That's _**exactly**_ the kind of thing I hate. You shouldn't have brought Brad back in the first place if it was just for the sole purpose of having him fall in love with me._ And vice versa.

Little Taffyta sighed. _Well I guess I might as well go then. I've never eaten here before, I wonder what the food is like.._ "Alright, I'll see you guys later. Stay sweet."

"Bye," Felix said warmly. _Stay sweet._ He chuckled.

"Bye, Taff," Candice said with a smile. _I hope she doesn't mind that nickname.._

The two Taffyta and Rancis pairs slowly went outside. The large wooden door was opened for them by the same guard that let them in.

"It's hot out here.." little Taffyta said with a sigh. _I noticed __a while ago __when we went inside._ "So where are we going eat? Did you bring karts in here or something?" _We're not walking there, are we?_

"We're going in that monster truck over there," Taffyta beamed. _They're waiting behind it. I see their_ _legs._

"You got one already?" little Rancis said excitedly, "As expected of my older self." _I don't know how you did it.. Oh wait, legs?.._

Rancis laughed. _Not quite._

"You can come out now," Taffyta said sweetly. _It's up to you two to do the rest._

Taffy slowly turned around the truck into view of little Taffyta. She smiled sheepishly. _I hadn't really figured out what I was going to say.. How did I greet the other Taffyta? I'm drawing a blank now. Not good._ "H-hey.." she said with a nervous chuckle, "I'm Taffy Fudge.. Nice to meet you.." _Is that really the best I can do?! I only had one chance to introduce myself and _**that's**_ how I chose to do it? No 'I'm your mother'? No 'I love you'?_

Little Taffyta swallowed hard, and her heart began to race. _Taffy?_ _If this is a.. No, the older me wouldn't joke about this.._ "Mom?" she asked hesitantly. Her eyes began welling with tears. _She's so young, but.._

"Yeah.." Taffy said with a nervous smile and a single, slow nod as she bent down, slowly opening her arms. _I hope you're happy to see me.._

Little Taffyta let out a whimper. _Mom.. It really is you, isn't it?_ "**Mom**!" She ran to close the small distance between them, and hugged Taffy tightly, as tightly as she could. "I missed you **so much**.." _I waited for you for 15 years.. _Her breath quivered as tears stained her cheeks. She buried her face in Taffy's shoulder as she took in everything she could of this moment. The feeling of her mother's gentle, loving embrace as she rubbed her back. The feeling of her curly hair ever so slightly pushing into the side of her face. The very faint strawberry scent of her perfume. "I **missed you** **so much**, Mom.." She sniffled, not loosening her grip in the slightest. _Don't go away anymore. Please.._

Taffy hugged little Taffyta tightly in kind as tears streamed down her cheeks. _I'm sorry.._ "I'm so sorry, Taffyta," she said sincerely as she lovingly rubbed the back of her head, "I put you through so much hurt.." She inhaled a deep, shaky breath. _All the years you must have lived without parents.. I can't believe such a thing can even be allowed to happen.._

"I love you.." little Taffyta said earnestly, "I've wanted to tell you again for 15 years.." She hiccupped. _I don't care if you're from the past. You're my mom.._ She sniffled.

"I love you too, Taffyta," Taffy said just above a whisper, "There's someone else here who you should meet.." She picked her up gently and slowly walked around the truck, realizing that she wouldn't be able to separate herself from her daughter except by force, not that she even wanted to. Shanks was leaning against his truck patiently, listening intently.

"H-hey," Shanks said with an uncertain smile as little Taffyta turned to look at him, still tightly clinging onto Taffy, "I reckon you can kind of guess, but I'm yer dad, Shanks Mutton.." _I wonder if she's ever even met me before in her backstory.._ He gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

Little Taffyta looked him over for the briefest of moments and finally giggled, loosening her grip on her mother before motioning with her arms for Shanks to take her into his. _So this is my dad.. What's with that accent? _Taffy reluctantly handed her over to Shanks' waiting arms.

"I always wanted to meet you," little Taffyta said with a nervous chuckle as she tightly hugged him.

"I'm sorry.." Shanks said earnestly, "My job doesn't give me much travelin' time.. If our backstories were more fleshed out, I'm sure I would have found time to see you on occasion.. But the people here **need** me. I could never have left for long.." _Not that it's any excuse.._

"It's okay," little Taffyta said sweetly, "You don't have to explain it." She sniffled. "Us being together is all I ever wanted." _I wish this game could have come out 15 years ago.._

"About that.." Taffy said with the utmost care as she gave Shanks a one-armed hug and gave Taffyta a loving smile, "If you'd like, I can go live with you.." _I can wake you up for breakfast before the arcade opens, tuck you in at night.._

"Me too," Shanks said warmly as he rubbed little Taffyta's back, "There ain't no reason why we would **have** to stay in this game fer sleepin' and such. It's just our day jobs, after all." _It may be 15 years late, but if it'll make you happy.._

Little Taffyta gasped and swallowed hard. "R-really?" she asked hopefully, "**Really** really?" _Yes.. A million times yes.._

"If that's what you want, yes.." Taffy said with a knowing smile. _I was hoping you would accept._

"It's settled then," little Taffyta beamed, "No takebacks.."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Shanks said with a grateful smile, "I ain't even got much of anything needin' to be moved, so I can go today if that works for ya."

"Me too," Taffy said with a chuckle.

The Rancis duo happily stood back with Taffyta, listening intently to the sap which was overloading their ears.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I wish I had more time today. I'd add in more for Felix and Calhoun, as well as Ralph, Vannie, and Vanellope.. I'll get to it tomorrow though, fear not. I just wanted to make sure little Taffyta had her moment in its entirety this chapter.


	91. Lineage, and the Brad Talk

In the dining room of the castle, Ralph, Vannie, Vanellope, and Queen Lemma took seats close to each other. Queen Lemma was sitting across from Vanellope, with Ralph and Vannie at Vanellope's sides.

Queen Lemma chuckled sheepishly and said, "I'm not quite sure where to begin, exactly.." She rested her chin on her hand, with her elbow resting on the tablecloth covered table and her other hand resting on her hip. "I suppose that first I should tell you that I'm your grandmother. Or at least I'm meant to be."

"I have a grandmother?" Vannie asked with a smile, "Cool." _I don't really have any memory of her though._

"Yeah, it's not bad," Vanellope said with a laugh, "So our birth mother was a princess too then."

"Yes," Queen Lemma said with a somewhat disappointed smile, "Your mother was born Penelope de Bramble, my daughter. She's out on a date with your birth father, Vincent von Schweetz at the moment." _I was hoping they would want a hug, but perhaps that's too much to expect at the moment._

"So what are they like?" Vannie asked with a smile, "We weren't exactly given the most detailed backstory.. All I remember is them dying in a kart crash, with me somehow getting away without even a scratch.. It doesn't even make sense, really.."

"Vincent is, simply put, an idiot.." Queen Lemma said with a sigh and a chuckle while shaking her head, "I didn't choose him.. But love is love, so I allowed it. He may be an idiot, but he's a lovable idiot, I'll give him that.. Penelope, more or less is like you," she gestured to Vannie, "The candy decorations in your hair were from her as well. Although, I suppose technically it's the other way around, since you were programmed first." She chuckled. "Getting sidetracked.. Penelope is a sweet girl with a mischievous personality. I was the same when I was young as well. You would think it's hereditary.."

Vannie and Vanellope nodded in acknowledgment of the fact that they were listening.

"As for the crash that happened on that fateful day.." Queen Lemma said solemnly, "Like I said, Vincent is an idiot. He turned away from the road, or so Rio says. It is uncharacteristic of the Vincent in this game, I'll have you know. And the kart was suped up when you compare it to the karts you're used to driving."

"It **was** going a bit faster than usual.." Vannie said with a somber nod. _I don't know how I should feel about all this.. I want to see them, even if they technically aren't my parents.._

"So, Ralph," Queen Lemma said as she turned her warm gaze over to him, "How do you fit in with all this?"

"It's.. complicated," Ralph said apprehensively while running his fingers through his hair, then scratching the base of his jaw, "You see, it's something sorta like this.. I met Vanellope here," he lightly placed his hand on her arm, "about half a year ago. She was turned into a glitch by someone who had taken over her game. She was ostracized for it, and I helped put things right. Because of various circumstances I've taken the role of her father." _I think that's about right.._

"But King Candy was programmed for that," Queen Lemma said in confusion, "He's just outside.." _Of __course Ralph would do something like that, but what happened between her and King Candy? Don't tell me.._

"The one who took control of the game was controlling him until Ralph showed up," Vanellope said pointedly, "My game was taken over the day it was plugged in 15 years ago. I shouldn't have to explain further than that." She looked down and fidgeted with a string on her hoodie. _You should understand what that would do to me.._

"Oh, dear.." Queen Lemma said worriedly, "I'm so sorry.." _For you __and King Candy __to go through something like that.. And for 15 years.._

"Don't be," Vanellope said with a sad, nervous chuckle. Her voice was filled with a mix of sadness, love, and consideration towards Queen Lemma's feelings, "I've got Ralph and Vannie, and a bunch of friends now.. And I'm still friends with the King Candys. It's just.. hard. Nothing can replace Ralph or Vannie, not even my real parents.. Sorry.." _It would be nice to be friends with my real parents though.._

Ralph's heart melted, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel guilty about the whole thing. _Thanks, kid.. It's greedy and unfair of me, but I'll accept it without complaint. But this is where things get awkward to explain.._ "As for the other reason I'm here.." He cleared his throat and breathed deeply. "Three weeks ago today, when Sugar Rush 2 was plugged in.." He scratched his forehead, "Well, Litwak needed to get new power strips for his arcade, which lead to all of our games getting unplugged to get transferred over."

"Oh my.." Queen Lemma said worriedly, "Was anyone lost?" _I know that most older games are reset to factory settings when they lose power.. __If that happens with non-native characters inside it, they're __**gone**__. You'd have to create them all over again.._

"No, no one was lost, thankfully," Ralph said with confidence, "To the point though.." He chuckled nervously. "Felix and I were still in our game when that happened though. Felix wanted to bring **every**.. **single**.. medal that he had earned over to Sugar Rush temporarily so that we wouldn't lose the highscores. We simply ran out of time doing that and our memories were erased when our game got unplugged." He breathed deeply. "So there we were, two reset characters, no memory of anything that happened since we were plugged in the first time. 30 years of memories, gone in an instant." _I'm still not sure if I remember every single thing that happened in that time._

"What happened next?" Queen Lemma asked curiously, "You seem to remember just fine.." _I guess that he probably got his memory back when he went into a different game he had gone into.. But that's a slow and painful process.._

"Right," Ralph said, "I do remember everything now." _At least everything that matters._ "But that's skipping ahead to the ending.. So Felix and I, and the surge protector that was here since this arcade was founded went to Hero's Duty after Felix's wife told us to. She was in Sugar Rush at the time. We'd have gone to Sugar Rush, but it was on the other power strip that Litwak bought, so we were separated. I started getting a headache in Hero's Duty so I left and waited outside, where I soon met Vannie and King Candy." He smiled modestly.

"It's okay to skip forward some, Ralph," Vannie said with a laugh, "Basically what happened is that Dad and I met Ralph and showed him around the castle in our game and had something to eat. What else.. Oh, Vanellope showed up around that time and she was scared of Dad because of the whole Turbo taking over her game thing. Ralph comforted her, being the big sweetheart he is, and I started to fall for him." _It wasn't a slow descent either.._ "We tried to get his memory back, and eventually we headed for Sugar Rush, trying to jog his memory there where I asked him out. And he was hesitant about it because of Vanellope, saying it'd be **weird**. I'm not mad about that anymore, since we're dating, but yeah, anyways.."

"Right, right," Vanellope said with a laugh, "So once we got in Sugar Rush we fused together for some reason and Ralph busted open the code room since King Candy didn't remember the code for it. He split us back up somehow, but he did it in a way that made Vannie not part of her game anymore for some reason.." _I think that's it.. All that matters anyways.._

"Are we forgetting anything?" Vannie asked Vanellope and Ralph with a sheepish grin. _Maybe we skipped too many details?_

"I think that's it.." Ralph said sheepishly. _You just can't forget I did that, can you, Vannie? I suppose that's only natural._

"Turbo?" Queen Lemma asked. _From Turbo Time? It's a little weird, the kind of relationship they have, but I guess it sort of makes sense in a way.. I don't know how to feel about it exactly.._

"Oh right," Ralph said with a frown, "Turbo was the one who took over King Candy's life and Sugar Rush for those 15 years.. And his game might be coming back into this arcade.." He sighed worriedly, "It's **worrying**, because he might do it again if his old memories fuse into this new Turbo, whether he's originally going to be a good guy or not.."

"O-ohhh.." Queen Lemma said with understanding, "If that comes to pass, his game coming here, we can do something about that.." _Once we explain it to him, he should reluctantly agree it's for the best.._

"You don't think it's weird, do you?" Vanellope asked nervously while fidgeting with her hoodie strings again, "Ralph being my dad and also dating the older me.." _I know we sometimes get weird looks from other people in the arcade.._

"Well," Queen Lemma said with a sigh, "Maybe a little.. But as long as nothing inappropriate is going on, then it's not weird in a bad way.. To be honest, that there are two people running around who are meant to be the same character is weird in itself, don't you think? Even though you have separate lives and experiences."

"Thanks," Vanellope said with a sheepish smile, "That's how I see it too."

"Just don't worry about what the idiots in the arcade might think," Ralph said sincerely, "They all know me as the Bad Guy who saved Sugar Rush. I get that sort of attention from the start." _I guess she saw people staring at us too. It's one of the reasons I don't like showing affection around other people. Aside from straight up embarrassment._

"Exactly," Vannie said, "So Grandma.." She laughed. "I don't suppose you've got anything to eat here? We haven't eaten since breakfast."

* * *

"Alright," Satoru said nervously, "I think I've got it.." _The solution.. I think I should talk to her about it __first though, she might find holes in it that I don't know about.. It's her life, after all. Sort of..  
_

"Let's hear it then," Calhoun said sternly while crossing her arms, "I can't say I'm hopeful about it being a good solution." _You could run the arcade for a few seconds using the energy it took to pace around like that._

"O-okay," Satoru said, taking a deep, uncertain breath, "What if I make another one of **you**? One from **before** Brad died.."

"Do you really think that would be the best option?" Calhoun asked, "There's another Felix running around this game, you know?"

"W-we could make her in love with Brad, like your backstory did with you.." Satoru said nervously.

"I don't too much like the idea," Calhoun said dryly, "It's too much like forcing me to love him."

"T-that's exactly what you guys did with me though, isn't it?" Candice asked hesitantly. _You __**do**__ really love me, right?_

"I was reluctant to do that too, Candice," Calhoun said while placing her hand on Candice's shoulder, "We **do** love you. But we **chose** to love you.. You just couldn't choose for yourself yet.."

"She's right, Candice," King Candy(1) said humbly, "We **all** chose to love you." _Especially me.._

Satoru crossed his arm and rested his chin on one of his hands. _I was wondering who she was.. She's obviously from Sugar Rush 2, and her outfit is somewhat inspired by Vanellope's.. This doesn't really help the situation any, does it?_

"Then what's the problem if there is another Tammy who is programmed to love this Brad guy?" Candice asked nervously while fidgeting with her hands, "It will be exactly the same, won't it?" _Otherwise you could have just made me without a history and then let me choose for myself who I love. But I'm __**happy**__ that I love you guys.. I'm __**happy**__ I have all those memories.._

"It's just that.." Calhoun said with a sigh, "I love **Felix**.. I just think that this other me would **too**.."

"Tammy.." Felix said while closing his eyes and massaging his temple, "I think it will be fine this way.." _Trust me, Tammy, I don't like this either. At __**all**__._

"Well **I **don't," Calhoun said sternly, "Why don't you ask Brad if he'd be willing to have his memory of me erased? Make someone **else** for him if that's what it takes."

"This subject uncomfortable to watch," Zombie said, "Zombie think best to talk with Brad. Brad might move on. It what happens in real world. It worth shot before reprogramming emotions."

Calhoun fought the urge to pace. _That's the thing. I don't __**want**__ to see him. __It's going to break his heart I'm sure. And it's going to make me think about that backstory of mine even more.._ She clenched her teeth. _**I'm**__ not going to like this either way, might as well make __**him**__ happy so he stays away from __**me**__._ "Just go with your idea.." she said with reluctance and bitterness, "It will keep him happy and away from me. Just make **sure** that she doesn't have any memory of Brad dying or anything **after** that. And **don't** make her have the same exact name as me, I don't need to merge with her like what happened to Vanellope." _That's the absolute __**last**__ thing I need._

"M-merging?" Satoru asked worriedly, "I think I **need** to hear about this." _I guess my idea is the best after all.. But c__haracters can __**merge**__ with each other? That sounds dangerous! __Games could potentially get unplugged because of something like that! __It looks like they must have found a workaround to avoid it __though__.._

"It happens to characters with the same exact name in some of the older games," King Candy said, "I already fixed Sugar Rush and our characters. There's nothing to worry about there, or **here** by the looks of it.."

"I.. How does that work though?" Satoru asked, "I mean.. Is it a shared consciousness? I'm not sure I understand you.." _Some developer I turned out to be.._

"In a way, yes," King Candy(1) said seriously, "Only one is in control, and **stays** in control, with the other just sort of trapped, unable to influence anything. The one in control can tap into memories and read the thoughts of the one not in control at will.." _I went through it for 15 years, I'm an expert on what it's like being controlled.._

"I can show you how to fix it if you'd like," King Candy said, "Of course you don't have to worry about it happening in **this** game. But you really should take the precautions you can so that your characters don't experience it in others." _I was programmed to fix things as well, though it was a last minute addition. I didn't even know it myself until I happened to find Vanellope's black box while blocking out that memory for her, and then looking at my own.. It would have been easier had I known about it before.._

"Yes! Yes please," Satoru said pleadingly, "And Calhoun, I would like you to join us in the code room." _Since they clearly know about this already I can speak freely. _"I'm sure you want to make sure that I don't do anything wrong with your copy as well.. And it's much easier to work from a base model.." _Which involves looking at your files. I'm sure that you must be reluctant to have me fiddling around with those._

"You'll need me to unlock my files anyway," Calhoun said sternly, "I **still** don't like this, but it's the only real option." _But the Felix of __this__ game __is bound to meet her __eventually. I hope he doesn't get jealous seeing me and __**my**__ Felix together._

"I'm sure it will work out," Felix said apprehensively, "Somehow.." _If worse comes to worst, we could always make a __**third**__ Tammy? But that's pushing it. Things get confusing enough with just two of a given character. Well, not really, but if they all look identical, __**then**__ it would._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Don't kill me now, Hero's Cuties shippers. I honestly couldn't think of a better solution with Brad in the picture. I'm not bringing him back just to kill him off or anything, and reprogramming someone against their will is a bit unsettling. It's different if it's a character who has never been active before as they technically don't exist yet. This is a pairing I don't ship in the slightest, by the way.

This story is **always** going to be mostly about the main six pairings. Anything else is just extra that I want to show.


	92. The Crisp Grove and A Third

"Alright, so we **definitely** need backpacks," Jet said with a thoughtful nod, "Of course we need to earn money to spend money.. Are there any interesting places to gather ingredients?" _How exactly did I become the one leading this group? Garret seems like a better pick__ out of us__, but I won't complain._ "Doesn't have to be any place especially efficient for getting money." _So long as it's fun._

"Well we've had some **real** food," Ralph(AR) said with a smirk, "There's a place not far from here I think you guys will like." _One of my favorite areas so far._

"Lead the way," Crumbelina said with a smile. _This should be interesting if Ralph has a high opinion o__n__ it._

The group got into the monster trucks, Jet and Crumbelina opting to get in the back of Felix(AR)'s to 'even the load' as they called it. Crumbelina leaned into Jet as the latter wrapped a loving arm around her back and they drove off, headed to what Ralph(AR) called 'The Crisp Grove'.

Felix(AR) slid open the back window of his monster truck without turning away from the landscape in front of him. They were currently passing Ramen Lake. Giant, sliced, boiled eggs sat atop the generous amount of noodles, as did slices of pork. "So how do you two like Adrenaline Rush so far?" he asked cheerfully as he followed Ralph's lead.

"This place is awesome," Jet said cheerfully, "I can definitely see us spending a **lot** of time here." _I'm not going to lie, the food is better here than anywhere else I've been so far. I'm sure your mom can make use of the ingredients here too though, __Crumbelina__._

_Yeah, I'm definitely going to tell her about this place. _"Especially with all these wild food varieties," Crumbelina said with a smile, "I expected it to be a little.. Well I don't want to say **disgusting**, but with all the food ingredients and things growing out of the ground it seems unsanitary to think about. Although now it seems pretty normal. As normal as food growing the way it does can get at least." _I wonder what we can expect at the place we're going.._

_Something to do with crisps and trees. You think it might be something like what I'm imagining? I don't even know if that's going through._ Jet imagined trees with potato chips for leaves.

Crumbelina chuckled. _It's a bit fuzzy, but I get the picture. It might be like that. _She stroked the base of her neck. _This is a little tiring though._

_Sorry, it's just so weird and cool we can do this. I didn't really even know we **could** do this for a while. I mean, with the exception of when we-_ Jet coughed, covering his mouth.

Crumbelina chuckled shyly. _Not right now, Jet._

"You two okay back there?" Felix(AR) asked with a chuckle, "I hope you're not getting sick.." _She must find something pretty funny.._

"We're fine," Jet said with a sheepish grin.

* * *

"So Leon," Ralph(AR) said tentatively through the open back window of his monster truck, "I don't suppose you could elaborate on how things were for my Fix-It Felix Jr. counterpart.. I think you said it used to be different before we got popular?" _Different how?_

"Oh boy.." Garret said with a strained sigh. Jubileena was subtly leaning into his shoulder. _You're not going to like this, Ralph._

"It was that bad?" Ralph(AR) asked out of concern. _What has my counterpart been through?_

"I'm not really the best person to be telling you," Leon said regrettably as he ran his hand over his shaven head while stroking Minty's shoulder with the arm he had wrapped around her back, "I don't have all the details I'm sure. But let's just say that until Hero's Duty came around your counterpart was ostracized by nearly the entire arcade because he was a Bad Guy, a villain in his game. Even Felix was swept up in it, though from what I gather he feels terrible that he let it happen." _It's hard to believe Felix would allow it to happen though._

"Well that's hardly a good reason to ostracize someone," Ralph(AR) said disappointedly, "I mean c'mon. Bad Guys just do what their programming says during gameplay.. How long has it been plugged in?" _Even Felix?_

"30 and a half years.." Garret said before clearing his throat. _Yeah, it's been pretty rough for you.._ "But all that changed when your counterpart stole a medal from our game with the intention of showing your peers you could get a medal if you wanted to."

"I what?" Ralph asked with a skeptical scoff. _How did he think that would work out well?_

"Anyways," Leon said, "Things didn't go as planned when you accidentally hatched a Cy-bug egg and fell into an escape shuttle with it, and ended up in Sugar Rush.. There was a guy named Turbo pretending to be the king of that game and the Cy-bugs had started taking over too, but your counterpart took care of both threats, with our Sarge and Felix getting the citizens to safety."

"We can explain it better later," Garret said, "Or rather your counterpart would probably be the better person to talk to about it."

"I think I'll just talk to him about it when I see him," Ralph(AR) said, "Anyways, we're almost there." _At least things are looking up for him now. Girlfriend and all. I'm disappointed it took him 30 years to make it to that point. I'd like to think he chose a good girl at least. _"So who is he dating again?"

"Vanellope von Schweetz," Minty said happily, "She's our princess, you know?" _You hit the jackpot._

"We just call her Vannie," Jubileena said with a smile. _Since there's another Vanellope running around._

"Vanellope?" Ralph(AR) asked apprehensively, "How old is she again?" _The one I know is 8 years old.. That'll be awkward._

"19, just like us," Minty said happily, "Why?"

"Well it's just that the one in this game.." Ralph(AR) said while cocking an eyebrow, "She's just a little kid."

"Oh man," Garret said with a laugh, "You mean to tell me that there's a **third** Vanellope running around?" _That's a disaster waiting to happen if the three ever meet in the same place._

"Well you know," Ralph(AR) said with an embarrassed laugh, "She's the queen's granddaughter, after all.. And her parents are in this game too." _And Satoru and Rio absolutely adore her._

"Oh!" Minty said excitedly, "Vannie's parents are in this game?! She'll be so excited!" _**I'm** excited. More excited about another Vanellope though!_

"So I guess that makes her mom Penelope de Bramble then?" Jubileena asked. _Since the queen is Lemma de Bramble.._

"Right," Ralph said with a chuckle, "Now don't go telling anyone this, but I did have a bit of a crush on Penelope when we first met. I shouldn't have told you that. But Vincent is a great guy." _We've even got the same hair color, how could I stay mad at him?_ "Anyways, we're here." He stopped the truck, Felix was about 10 seconds behind in doing the same.

The group looked around at the veritable forest of trees. As Jet imagined, the leaves were made of potato chips. There were a few trees of each available flavor. Among the most easily recognizable were sour cream and onion, plain, barbeque, and ranch, but there were others as well. The bark was especially valuable for grinding into fine spices.

"Oooh," Leon said, his voice filled with wonder as he approached a sour cream and onion tree, grabbing a low hanging chip. _Best chip ever, look at the seasonings piled onto this one.._

Minty giggled and grabbed a few herself, happily munching away. '_Oooh', is right.. Delicious._

"What rank are these?" Jet asked with a smile, ready to make a mental note. _I totally called it._

_Yeah, yeah._ Crumbelina chuckled.

"They're Ranked C-149 if memory serves," Ralph(AR) said, "The sour cream and onion ones anyways. Those are the best. The others go down to about C-156." _Since there are 8 flavors._

"You'll need quite a few to turn in though," Felix(AR) said cheerfully, his hands were resting in his pants pockets, "The bark is ranked B-52 to B-59, in case you're interested." _I wouldn't recommend taking a bite out of the bark though. It might seem like a good idea, but talk about flavor overload.. It's best ground up into a powder._

"Luckily for you I've got the bags we're supposed to collect them into," Ralph(AR) said with a wink and a smirk. He pulled out a large orange backpack which was until then nowhere to be seen and pulled out what appeared to be clear garbage bags. _Easy to identify them this way too. How a full bag takes up only one inventory slot though is beyond me. I guess it's just magic. Just like Gene's stomach capacity._

* * *

"I'm just so happy," little Taffyta said with an exhausted sniffle as she rested her head on her father's shoulder as he carried her in his arms. _I always dreamed of something like this happening.. I hope I don't wake up to this being another wild dream.._

Shanks stroked the back of her head lovingly and said, "We all are, darlin'." _Things will be different now._

"Are you hungry, sweetie?" Taffy asked sweetly. _We haven't eaten yet, but if you're not hungry it can wait.._

"A bit, yeah," little Taffyta said with a tired chuckle as she rubbed her eyes. _My makeup can't regenerate fast enough to keep up.. Stop crying, eyes. It's all better now.._ She sighed happily as Shanks carried her back around the monster truck to the others with Taffy at his side.

"And **you** must be Rancis," Taffy said with a chuckle, bending down to his level. She gave him a warm hug. _Thank you for taking care of her._

"It's nice to meet you too," little Rancis said with a chuckle as he hugged her back, "Although I **sort** of knew you, or at least I faintly remember the one from our backstories. It's not much, but it's there." _I think I spent a lot of time at their house. Of course that was like 15 years ago, since she hasn't been around since then._

"Alright kids," Shanks said with a chuckle, "Hop on in and we'll go get us some chow."

"Alright, **Dad**," Taffyta said with a chuckle. _That is **so** weird, calling him that._

Taffy took little Taffyta and little Rancis securely into her lap and arms in the front passenger seat of Shanks' monster truck while Taffyta and Rancis had the back to themselves. Little Taffyta, though exhausted, was talking excitedly with her parents in the front, though Taffyta and Rancis couldn't hear them since the window was closed.

Taffyta eagerly nestled herself into Rancis' arms, still excited over the fact that she can interact with her parents now, no matter how young they might be. _Today started out to be so **terrible**, but now.. _She giggled. _Now I'm not even mad I don't get to race tomorrow._

"They're good people," Rancis said warmly as he rubbed Taffyta's back, "I'm glad they're here."

"You have no idea," Taffyta said with a chuckle, "I'm so happy for the little me.. Waiting 15 years to see her parents.. She's still just a child.." She sighed. _No, not going to cry again._ "But they're going to move in with her and be just like a real family." She giggled. "It makes me so happy. She deserves this **so** **much**."

"Yes, she does," Rancis said lovingly, "And you get to see them whenever you want."

* * *

"Oh, of course you must be hungry," Queen Lemma said with a chuckle, "I'll have the chefs prepare a meal. You should go ahead and inform your friends.." She sighed with a warm smile across her face as she and the others stood up. _I only wish that they expressed a bit more interest in their real parents.. And me.. I suppose while I'm at it I should go wake up our Vanellope and introduce them._

Vannie smirked and glitched to the other side of the table and gave Queen Lemma a hug. "It's going to take some getting used to, but it's cool that I've got a grandmother."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Vanellope said after glitching over to do the same, "We just don't have any memory of you, so it's a bit awkward." She laughed and glitched onto Ralph's shoulder. "Come on, Ralphie, let's go tell them there's gonna be food!"

"Sure thing, kid," Ralph said with a chuckle. _I wonder how she'll react when she meets her real parents though. I don't think I have to worry about them taking her away from me.. No, that **would** be impossible._

They returned to the throne room where Candice, King Candy(1), Zombie, and Ging still remained.

"Where'd everybody go?" Vannie asked curiously. _We had such a big group of people! Where's Dad, Taffyta, Rancis, Tammy, and Felix?_

"Taffyta came get the Sugar Rush Taffyta and Rancis to get something to eat," Candice said, "And Dad went with Satoru, Tammy, and Felix to the code room to fix a few things." _I definitely would have loved these guys anyway, right? I don't see how I wouldn't have.. I can make my own choices now, I don't have to worry about it.._

"Fix what?" Ralph asked while cocking an eyebrow.

"They making sure characters not merge," Zombie said, "Also making new Tamora for Brad. It not best idea, Zombie think, but see how it can make things better."

"Oh, I hadn't even thought of that," Ralph said sheepishly, "It could have been pretty bad if we had merged when going into my and Felix's game.." _Although the Star Wars guys were able to be separated easily enough in E-Z Livin'. Weird that both of those Luke guys are dating the same girl though. I wouldn't be able to accept that in the slightest. And it's going to be weird having another Calhoun around.. One that **isn't** married to Felix. Super weird.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I was still thinking about how the code room scene would play out. That's why it's not in this chapter.


	93. About Her Parents

Ralph sighed and slowly moved towards the back of the throne with Vannie and Vanellope with him as usual. Two guards eyed them cautiously, giving each other uncertain glances.

"Relax guys," Ralph said as reassuringly as he could, "We know what we're doing." _I'd like to see what it's like in there, mostly, but I should also inform them that there's going to be food. And then there's also the issue with making another Calhoun.. Isn't this whole thing going a little too far? What exactly is Calhoun thinking? I guess though with Brad not being dead there could be issues.. I don't think we should just keep making people over and over again though. Oh, but I guess if it's a developer doing it, it's not so different than them coming with the game. But still.  
_

"Yes, gentlemen," Vanellope said in a regal tone, "Unless you want me to go get granny.." _I'll make use of her position of power if I have to. She's such a nice old lady though, I feel a little bad about it._

The guards sighed apprehensively and escorted them into the hidden elevator which went down to the corridor leading into the code room. The corridor itself hummed and glowed white with the game's lifeblood flowing through numerous tubes along the walls. The vault-like door to the code room was open little more than a crack.

"Wait just a moment, please," one of the guards said firmly, "I'm sure Satoru will let you inside, but we would like to be **certain** of that first." _You may be all TobiKomi, but beyond this door is **everything** that our game is._

"Sounds reasonable enough," Vannie said with the faintest hint of annoyance. _It **is** different than going into our own code room, since Dad isn't the one that rules this place. Too bad, that._

The guard went inside the code room while the other waited anxiously. He smiled his nervous smile and decided to make small talk. "So, how do you like it here so far? Have you gotten your cards yet?" _One question at a time, idiot._

"The place is amazing so far," Ralph said honestly, with a humble smile, "At least what we've seen so far." _I should also ask-_

"What do you mean by cards?" Vannie asked curiously, forgetting for a moment that they were waiting outside the code room.

"You can come in," the first guard said with a sigh of relief. _It's better to be safe than sorry._

"They're for trading around here," the second guard explained, "You'll find out soon enough." _They'll figure it out.._

Ralph, Vannie and Vanellope went inside the code room. To their surprise, there was a faintly lit marble floor as well as gravity in this particular code room. The files were all shrunk down to about the side of a quarter each. The bundle of wires and files was still quite large, and it hovered over a small marble pedestal in the center of the huge room. Around the bundled code was King Candy, Calhoun, Felix, Satoru, and a young Japanese woman with black curly hair. She was wearing a black pinstriped business suit.

"Ralph, Vanellope, Vannie," Satoru said with a smile as he turned away from the pedestal and walked over to greet them, "Glad to have you. Of course, I'd prefer not to make a habit of inviting people in here. No offense."

"You don't trust us," Ralph scoffed in playful annoyance. _Fair enough.. That's a reasonable approach, but still a little insulting._

"Sorry, it's not so much that," Satoru said with a nervous laugh, "It's just a territorial thing." _I didn't even like the other team members going behind me on anything I worked on.. Rio was the exception, naturally. But we were leading separate teams when we worked on Adrenaline Rush and Sugar Rush 2. Hero's Duty was programmed by a separate team entirely, with us only providing background information for the characters. I'd have changed a few things here and there.._

The young Japanese woman eagerly approached them with a wide smile on her face and said, "It's nice to finally meet you face to face. I'm Rio Inaba. Well, the Adrenaline Rush version of her anyways." She chuckled. "King Candy tells me that you turned out to be quite the wizard." _That was my idea. I'm sorry about making you not bathe in 18 years.._ _The cleaning thing King Candy told me about seems to work well though_._ He smells very sweet._ "Your outfit is nice.." _I wonder where he got it._

Ralph sighed frustratedly and rolled his eyes over in King Candy's direction before looking back over to Rio and Satoru. "I wonder who started that," he said while crossing his arms. _So you were made a character too. I guess it makes sense to have both of them here, since they both own TobiKomi._

"It was me, sorry.." Rio said with a chuckle, "But it makes more sense in this game."

"How so?" Vannie asked curiously, "What kind of spells does he have in this game?" _And the outfit was my idea._

"Well, he's much taller in his 'fighting mode', as he calls it," Rio said with a grin, "The height scale is a bit different in Fix-It Felix Jr., 9 feet is actually much large, you know? So what we've done is give him a limited shape-shifting ability to shrink and enlarge his body to an extent. When he's not ready to fight he's about the height this Ralph is, but his arms are normally-proportioned. He's still quite muscular though."

"I like the ham-hands though," Vannie said with a giggle. _That's one plus my Ralph has. I just wish I had more time for just us._

"Me too," Vanellope said, "Why would you change that?"

"I did that, sorry," Satoru said, "It'd be hard for him to fit in a monster truck otherwise. Even as big as those are." _I'm sure this Ralph would like normal-sized arms and hands at least some of the time as well.._

"It's not like he can't switch at will," Rio said playfully.

"So there's a question I'd like to know the answer to," Ralph said apprehensively, "It's about the whole Felix and I being brothers thing."

"Hang on, I'd like to hear too, I think," Felix said worriedly as he quickly moved away from the pedestal and ran over to the group. _What about us being brothers bothers you, Ralph?_

Calhoun was rapidly typing away in frustration. _Can't you guys talk outside? I'm trying to fix this mess Satoru made. I can tell he's not used to this kind of 'programming'. __At least the speech-to-text application doesn't activate while I'm typing._

"What really happened to our parents?" Ralph asked, "I'm not asking for you to make us some or anything like that. I'm just curious if you ever justified it in a better way. 18 years is a **long** time, you know? Our biological dad surely would have come looking for me at some point rather than waiting until he was almost dead. And how did our parents die?"_ I don't exactly miss them. I mean sure, it was nice knowing they cared about me and stuff, but I don't remember one thing about them in the first place. So it's no big deal._

Rio sighed anxiously, knowing she was the one to answer first. "Ralph, Felix. We didn't bring your parents back.." she said solemnly, her voice was filled with regret, "We just didn't think you would need them like some of the racers might. Especially Taffyta and Vanellope.." She frowned. _I'm **so** sorry, you two.. If I knew from the beginning you guys were alive.._ _But that's why I programmed the racers' parents to accept them wholeheartedly if they ever met.. Otherwise they simply wouldn't know. _"If we **had** created your parents, then it would be **them** who didn't have parents.. As for what happened to them, Satoru is probably more suited to explaining it. It was going to be his next project." _Of course I was going to do a lot of programming for it myself._

"Hang on," Vanellope said confusedly, "So you made the racers' parents, but **just** not theirs?" _That's hardly fair. You even made Brad! Who knows **what** you may have done for the E-Z Livin' guys.._

"I already had most of them programmed into this game by the time I found out you were actually alive," Satoru said nervously, "So were Ralph and Felix. I **literally** had a heart attack when I found out.." _Queen Lemma suddenly talking to me while I alone stayed behind to do more testing.. Who **wouldn't** have a heart attack at the age the real me was? Although my already bad heart was the largest cause.._

"He was in the hospital a few days," Rio said somberly. _I won't tell them you died if you don't._

_They deserve to know, sweetie._ Satoru sighed shakily and said, "I told her what happened when she first visited me in the hospital.. After those three days, the real me died. That's when Rio took over the development of Adrenaline Rush while also supervising and developing Sugar Rush 2."

"They were originally going to come out the same day, but.." Rio said and shook her head sadly, "He couldn't even see the finished product of either." _At least now, in a sense, he can.._

"So to answer your question, Ralph.." Satoru said nervously as he realized they went off on a tangent, "Your mother and adoptive father left you in the woods on purpose to **protect** you.. Your family was being tracked by a group of evil wizards who wanted to wipe your family out, as well as steal **your** particular magic and make it their own.. Your parents pretended you died that day, setting up a barrier so that no one could leave or enter. They could fight much more effectively without needing to worry about your safety, so they survived for quite a long while, though constantly under attack. Everything went as planned, except the barrier weakened over time and eventually broke down completely. That was last year in this game's timeline. It was when the Niceland apartments were built. That's also why the land is normal. The barrier fed off the magic in the area, leaving only the inhabitants unaffected." _So no magical food plants and the like._

Ralph stood there, taking all of the information in. He furrowed his brow in thought. _You know we're alive and yet you're still going with something like that? I guess it's not so bad since I hardly knew them. I don't even know what they looked like, but all the same, sheesh._

"Oh my land.." Felix said as he just barely understood what was being said, since the explanation was so fast, "But what about from **my** side?" _What about my father and adoptive mother?_

"You and your parents went into hiding," Satoru said earnestly, "Of course, you never knew until the day your father told you about it. That's when he gave you his hammer. You and your father weren't fighters, you know? He wanted to make sure that he was there for you. Your real mother and father had wildly differing views on magic, so it only makes sense that they would grow apart."

"So why do I need a hammer?" Felix asked curiously, "Ralph doesn't need anything for his wrecking.." _And who are these evil wizards? _"Are these evil wizards in this game?"

"It was so that you didn't use up your own magic when fixing things," Satoru said, "It's weakly justified, I know. But when I was alive I figured, you know.. It doesn't really need to be **fully** justified as long as the game is fun. Player enjoyment is the number one factor above all else when it comes to making games. Or at least it **should** be." _I've seen games being made simply for money, but that.. That just doesn't sit right with me. _"As for the evil wizards.. No, they're not in this game. It was for a planned sequel, but development may not go through since the real me died."

"It'll go through," Rio said firmly, "The real me will see to it. But game development can take years. It probably **will** take years, considering she now has to worry about keeping living game characters happy while doing it.."

"Are you **sure**?" Satoru asked, "The real you seemed to be taking a liking to Litwak.." _The real me isn't there anymore, you know?_

"She wouldn't do that.." Rio said solemnly. _You know how much I love you.. Besides, __Litwak is an American. She'd have to move an entire team over to the states, or hire an entirely new team here._

"You say that, but it was obvious to me the way she was talking to him when she left," Satoru said with a sad smile, "The real you deserves to be happy just as much as we do." _Even Pocket Satoru saw it, I'm sure._

"Blecchh," Vanellope said in playful disgust, "Get a room if you're going to be like that." _We're here to tell them there's gonna be food in the first place. I wonder if Ralph forgot.._

"We're in a room," Rio said with a chuckle before becoming serious, "But you're right. Now's not the time to talk about it.. We really are sorry about everything we've done to you until now. We love each and every one of our characters. The backstories were just sort of justifications for the setting and character motivations.."

"Grandma's having the chefs cook for us," Vannie said, "I think we just about finished talking about all this, right?"

"**You** didn't want to ask us anything?" Rio asked.

"I'll meet my real parents soon enough," Vanellope said with a shrug, "But I've got parents right here already, so yeah." She petted Ralph's hair.

Ralph raised his fist slightly towards Vanellope for a fist bump. _That's my girl. You really should be nice with your real parents though when you meet them._

"That's kind of funny," Satoru said with a chuckle. _Really, it's good!_

"What's so funny about it?" Vanellope asked in an annoyed tone, furrowing her brow, "Should I be offended by that? Because I **might** be.." _Don't go badmouthing my family. Developer or not, I'll kick you in the shin._

"It's just that Ralph was originally going to be Ralph von Schweetz.." Rio said with a giggle, "But we realized that he would be way too huge for candy go-karts, and we didn't want to kill him off because we still wanted to make a sequel for his and Felix's game." _It's never fun killing off characters.. It's why we did a prequel to Sugar Rush in the first place._

"Well I'm **glad** he's not my dad," Vannie said gratefully, "Because that'd be **really** weird for me, being his girlfriend and all." _I couldn't be more proud of my choice of mate either._

"You don't feel conflicted at all about this combination?" Satoru asked apprehensively. _You know, they're both Vanellope von Schweetz. Now that I think about it, there's another one of her in the castle sleeping. I want to see them meet.._

"You trying to **say** something?" Ralph asked while cocking an eyebrow, "They're the same **character**, but not the same **person**, you know?" _Of course I had that problem at first too, but my mind got set straight real fast._

"There's nothing wrong with it **at all**," Felix said firmly with a nod and crossed his arms, "Tammy had this real nice analogy about twins. I forgot how she said it, but you get the idea."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wow. That code room scene went on far longer than I expected it to. I'll continue it in another chapter. Perhaps tomorrow, though I didn't have any of Jet's group this chapter.


	94. Vanellope von Schweetz(AR)

Jet and company each filled a bag with whichever flavor chip they wanted to and placed them into the back of one of the monster trucks. It went a **lot** quicker than expected as the bags just seemed to suck the chips into them instantly without hassle. Though getting started did take a little 'minor' tree shaking on Ralph(AR)'s part.

"What about the bark though?" Jet asked, "It's got a better ranking right?" _Higher ranking, more money. Wouldn't that take less space __too__?_

"You got a knife on you or something?" Ralph(AR) asked with a chuckle, "We don't.. Well at least not yet." _We weren't programmed for this type of gameplay originally. Shanks is the master of this area._

"I've got daggers?" Jet said with uncertainty as he held a few up, "Would these work?" _Thanks, King Candy.._

"They might," Felix(AR) said with a chuckle, "Careful not to cut yourself though."

"Leon and I have knives," Garret said with a chuckle. _Not that they're used in gameplay, but why wouldn't soldiers have a good, sharp knife during the __potential__ End Times? You never know when it'll come in handy. Like __**now**__._ He nodded and grinned.

"Sometimes I wonder what you're thinking.." Jubileena said with a sigh. _What's with that grin, especially?_

Jet snickered. _I guess they didn't._

Crumbelina shot Jet a smirk. _Yeah, well don't let them know we know. Or maybe they __**did**__ and are being coy about it._

Minty glanced over to Leon. _What do you think?_

_I think that sour cream and onion is definitely the best._ Leon ate a few more chips all at once, not looking up. _Also they didn't, probably._

Ralph(AR) smirked and handed them each a very small bag to collect a bit of seasoning bark in and they returned to Bramble to trade their goods. _I don't have an infinite supply of these. Just what came in the backpack when I bought it._

"Now for the **chips**," Felix(AR) said cheerfully, "You'll want to go to the snack shop over this way." He pointed behind him with his thumb and began to cheerfully stride in its direction. _I'm Fix-It Felix Jr., and this is my favorite shop in Adrenaline Rush._

It was a small affair, trading in their chips.

"I'm a little surprised that sriracha flavor sold for the same price as sour cream and onion," Jubileena said with a chuckle as they walked away from the shop, "200 isn't so bad for as easy as that was, probably.." _Jalapeno is pretty good too, but sriracha is my favorite._ _At least_ _they're all the same price.._ _I wonder how much it costs for those bags to put the chips in.._

"I guess that the prices are the same for similar ingredients in the same area," Leon said with a chuckle, "Best flavor is subjective, after all." _I didn't expect Crumbelina to choose pickle though. Maybe cheddar, but pickle?_

"The spices," Ralph(AR) said with smile, "You'll want to sell **those** directly to a restaurant. I suppose we could have gotten you guys exploring first, but it's no big deal, right?" _It's not that big of a detour once we're already in town._

"So back to Bistro Baklava then?" Jet asked as he eyed the little baggie of ranch flavored bark he held in his hand. _We can afford cheap backpacks by now, I wonder if we'd have to carry them around or what. Ralph is able to tuck his away somehow.. Is it just an inventory thing?_

"Right," Felix(AR) said with a smile, "There are a few other restaurants, but we mainly go to Bistro Baklava." _At least until we can afford the better restaurants. Meals in the hundreds of thousands just aren't realistic.. Yet! Oh, that's going to be **so** delicious. I gotta save up.. Then again I could get me some nice enchanted stuff.._

They returned to Bistro Baklava and waited at a separate counter from the customers looking to eat.

"Oh, and I **won** the Random Roster Race today! **First** place!" little Taffyta could just barely be heard saying from a not-so-far-off table. She was talking excitedly as she, her counterpart, and the Rancis duo ate with Shanks and Taffy. _I was worried I'd come in last since I couldn't get to sleep at all, but somehow I managed._

"That's my girl," Shanks said with a chuckle. _I reckon you must be a pretty good little racer._

"Ugh, I don't even want to talk about mine," Taffyta said with a disappointed chuckle, "I just barely lost because of various reasons." _I was thinking about Adrenaline Rush too much to focus and I didn't sleep at all either._ She sighed tiredly. _Where does she get all that energy? She was practically falling asleep for a while and then here she is all chipper again._ She placed an elbow on the table and rested her head on her open palm. _The food here is **really** good though._

"You'll get in tomorrow," Taffy said with a confident smile, "I'm sure it was just nerves and bad luck." _I'm sure it's no small coincidence our game happened to get plugged in the same day she lost._

"I don't mean to **boast**.." Rancis said teasingly as he looked at Taffyta. _But I won._

"Then **don't** boast.." Taffyta said with an annoyed smile and sigh, "He came in first.." She rolled her eyes. _He's probably thinking about that deal we made again. I guess I can't pick on him anymore for never coming in first since getting plugged in._

"Way to go me," little Rancis said with a laugh. _I don't too often come in first, but when I do, Taffyta makes this **really** cute annoyed face._

"I'm glad to see them enjoying themselves," Garret said with a chuckle, low enough so that they couldn't hear. _I guess it was a good thing we split up when we did._

"Yeah," Minty said with a giggle, "I didn't expect to see little Taffyta and Rancis here though." _I mustn't interfere. I want to hold them again though.._

"Especially since this game is so dangerous," Crumbelina said. _Those orange boars right at the entrance, and then there were some weird hippo-looking animals on our way to town.._

"It won't be so dangerous for long," Felix(AR) said with a chuckle, "The developers want you guys to meet your parents, after all. That counts for the younglings too."

"The **developers** do?" Jet asked curiously. _Is that what Shanks meant earlier? Well it's sort of impossible for me in either case, not that I mind. I never even thought about the possibility of myself having parents._

Ralph(AR) shook his head and said, "Way to go Felix.. Right, so you've heard about Satoru, I'm sure. He's a developer avatar in the game. So is his wife Rio." _It should be fine to let you know anyways since you're all TobiKomi._

"Oh," Leon said, "Neat." _That's really all I have to say about that. It was bound to happen at some point._

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a cashier said as she walked up to the counter, "Ooh, sour cream and onion." She smiled warmly as she gestured for Leon's bag and card.

* * *

"Calm down, Ralph," Satoru said firmly, "I'm free to have my opinion about it. It's weird, okay?" _You act like it's something so unforgivable._

"I don't think it's **that** weird, Satoru," Rio said while furrowing her brow slightly, "I think it's sweet. Ralph **deserves** a good girl." She smiled at the obviously uncomfortable Ralph. "I'm sorry, Ralph. Don't mind him. You three look good together." _I do wonder why the little one considers Ralph her dad rather than King Candy.. Although now that I think about it, I guess I did imagine that she wouldn't accept King Candy as her dad so soon after the crash.. I guess Ralph just came across her by chance and they took to each other.  
_

"I just don't see what the big deal is," Vannie said in an annoyed tone with her arms crossed, "If I pretended my name was something else and wore different clothes then nobody would even **know** we're the same character." _We would just look related, which could mean **anything**._

Ralph huffed and said, "**Exactly**. And I couldn't be any happier than I am with these two." _I need to relax, find my happy place. It's just a talk with in-game versions of my creators, who **cares** what Satoru thinks?_

"Vanellope always was our favorite," Rio said sheepishly, "Well, you and Felix too, of course."

"Thanks for **that**," Calhoun barked sarcastically, momentarily looking up from the code she and King Candy were discussing in hushed tones. _We can still hear you over here._

"We love you too, of **course**!" Rio said apologetically, "But it's just.." _I **really** shouldn't admit to playing favorites.. She's one of our favorites too, but I forgot she was even in here.. It's too late for me to say she's a favorite._

"You**are** one of our favorites," Satoru said apprehensively, "So is King Candy." _Taffyta too. But we should keep that to ourselves._

"Yeah, yeah," Calhoun said as she focused on her copy's code, "Don't mind **us**." _This really has me in a bad mood. Their hearts are in the right place, but bringing back the dead is all sorts of taboo. Just ask **Ash** what happens. I don't even know how I would react if I saw Brad. I know it won't be pleasant.._ _Maybe I should mirror our hairstyles.. Oh wait. Actually I think I can turn **off** that stupid speech-to-text application.._

"Your surprise is in here, sweetie," Queen Lemma said warmly as she entered the code room, looking down at the 8 year old Vanellope she was holding hands with. She had a black blindfold over her eyes. She was taller than Vanellope by a head and a half since she wasn't designed in the 'chibi' style that the Sugar Rush characters were designed in.

Vanellope(AR)'s eyes immediately lit up with excitement as the blindfold came off. After a fraction of a second, her eyes adjusted and her excitement was more focused rather than simple surprise.

"Holy mother of monkey milk!" Vanellope(AR) said excitedly, "What's up dudes?!" She chuckled. "Hey, why are you so short?" She eyed Vanellope playfully before turning her gaze over to Ralph. "And Ralph?" She laughed. "You sure look different from the Ralph I know. Nice clothes though. Beats those dumb overalls any day." _I want a shoulder ride too.. _She looked Vannie over intently. "At least my adult version is tall. Lookin' good, too."_ No idea who this little guy is though._

"Let me guess.." Ralph said with a playful smile, "You're Vanellope von Schweetz too." _Well at least Vanellope's parents have a Vanellope to parent already. Satoru would probably make another anyways to compensate if there wasn't._

"Adoi," Vanellope(AR) said wryly, "You sure figured **that** one out fast. I thought my disguise was **perfect**, too. Hiding in plain sight.." She sighed excitedly, "Ah, who am I kidding? I love you guys already. Did you meet Mom and Dad yet? Or are they still out on their date?" _I can't believe they made me take a nap. I'm not five anymore.._

Queen Lemma chuckled and said, "They're still out, sweetie."

"And I'm **not** short," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes as she hopped down to the marble floor, "It's just the style my game was made in." _You about done talking rapid-fire?_

"A bit slow there," Vanellope(AR) said wryly, "I expected a faster reaction."

"You looked like you had a lot to say," Vanellope said with an annoyed smile, "I was being nice." _How old are you anyways?_

"I was being nice," Vanellope(AR) said mockingly.

"Oh, now don't start that," Vanellope said while playfully narrowing her eyes. _You're mimicking me?_ She chuckled.

"Oh, now don't start that," Vanellope(AR) said mockingly, her smile growing wider. _You're fun._

"Oh ho ho ho ho," Vanellope started laughing, Vanellope(AR) wasn't far behind doing the same. The two clasped a hand into each other's arms as a sort of handshake.

"You're too quiet, Vannie," Vanellope said with a laugh, "Join in."

"Yes, join us 'Vannie'," Vanellope(AR) said mischievously. _Note to self, she's called Vannie. Makes sense. That's what Dad calls me._

"Aww, but you were being so cute," Vannie said mischievously, "If only I had a camera I'd take pictures." She snatched Vanellope(AR) into her arms lovingly. "**Too** cute." _I want to meet Mom and Dad now.. Sure, Dad is a good dad. A great dad. But he's not Dad dad.._

"Drats. Being held," Vanellope(AR) said with a sigh, "my only weakness.." _You're a schweetie._

"We sell cameras in town," Satoru said with a smile. _Awesome, we can ignore the whole 'weird family' topic now._

Ralph patted Satoru on the shoulder and said, "Don't mind it." _Just keep that opinion to yourself from now on._

Satoru laughed nervously and said, "R-right." _Not off the hook, huh? At least he eased up. Vanellope is a life saver all the same._

"So like I asked before," Vanellope(AR) said with a smile, "What's up?" She squirmed out of Vannie's arms and back onto the floor. _Enough of that for now, there's people around. I don't need them thinking I'm that much of a child._

"I don't even get a mention?" Felix asked while pouting. _Come on, Vanellope.. 3? Don't you know me too?_

"Sorry, I hadn't met you yet," Vanellope(AR) said while patting him on the head, "What's your name?" _Don't cry, little buddy. I almost took you for a kid, but that voice is definitely a man's voice._

"I'm Fix-It Felix Jr., of-" Felix started proudly.

"Of the game Fix-It Felix Jr.," Ralph, Vannie, and Vanellope said in unison.

"We get it.." Ralph said wryly, "He's my brother and rival in our game."

"Got it," Vanellope(AR) said with a playful nod and thoughtful pose. _I knew it. T__hese guys are fun. The eldest me needs to do more talking though, __but that might be my fault for talking so much__._ "Oh hey, it's Dad's advisor guy!" She laughed and ran over to King Candy who was watching with great interest. "Candy, right? How you been? Shame you're not programmed in this game too." _I might know you better if you were. But I recognize that head shape any day. But where's all your hair? Pffft._ "Hey isn't that Dad's crown?"

"Er.." King Candy said with a nervous laugh while looking over to Rio and Satoru, then back to Vanellope(AR), "It's a long story. Or rather it's a short story that's uncomfortable to talk about." _Does she not know? I suppose that's for the best.._

Vanellope(AR) rolled her eyes and said, "If you say so. So what are you working on, Lady?" _I haven't __met you before either._

"Call me Tammy," Calhoun said with a faint, wry smile as she continued typing, "I'm doing a favor for somebody that I used to know."

* * *

**Author's Note:** And so the adorable, excitable Vanellope von Schweetz(AR) makes her appearance :).


	95. Brief Chance Encounter

Ralph looked over to Vanellope(AR) who was excitedly chatting to Calhoun. Calhoun was still typing away at her copy's code. Ralph smiled warmly, easily seeing the 'Vanellope' coded into her. _I can see why he'd want to be sure they have at least one Vanellope running around. I'm sure she and m__ine__ will get along well._

Ralph chuckled before turning back to Rio and Satoru. "So I'm wondering," he said seriously in a hushed tone, "How exactly is she so old since this game is 10 years before Sugar Rush? She wouldn't even be born yet." _At the very most Penelope would be pregnant for her._

"My excuse to put her in was an in-game cutscene," Satoru said with a smirk, "I'd have done the same for the other racers as well, but Adrenaline Rush has no child citizens. I'm sure you must have noticed. It's a dangerous place, after all." _It's just not feasible for there to be children here. Vanellope is the only exception because she's the queen's granddaughter and __also __technically __just __on a visit._

"She's part of Vincent's story mode," Rio said with smile, "The cutscene is her visiting her grandmother with Vincent and Penelope."

"Couldn't you have made it **not** dangerous for kids?" Ralph asked. _The real Rio and Satoru had that kind of power.._

"Ralph," Satoru said with a sigh, "I shouldn't have to remind you that I didn't know you guys were alive when I and my team first started developing the game. Certain details have to be decided **before** development begins. This was just one of those things." _As disgusting as it is, some players wouldn't flinch at trying to attack kids either._

"So where do the adults come from?" Vannie asked, "Adults don't just pop up out of nowhere." _Therefore, they had to grow up from babies and kids._

"They move in from Sugar Rush and other surrounding areas," Satoru said, "It's not thought through **entirely**, but that's why all of the racers' parents are here. They lived here. Or they were at least visiting, like Vincent. And of course Taffy, Taffyta's mom. She was visiting for business when she met Shanks. The exception is the royal family, since they have guards." _Vincent was 'visiting' here specifically to find his future queen.._

"I did what I could to make as many of you happy as possible.." Rio said sheepishly, "I want you to believe me on this.. You're all like my children. I had a happy ending planned for every single one of you after all of the hell I put you through." _The only deaths were ones in backstories, not actual characters.. It can't be helped in Vincent and Penelope's case, but it's not like __**they're**__ going to die.._

"Did you really have to put us through hell though?" Vanellope asked seriously. "It's not exactly **fun**."_ Although it wasn't your fault Turbo took over my game.. __That was hell overkill.._

"There has to be a reason for the players to care," Rio said earnestly, "They have to feel a connection. Something that just clicks with them and makes them think, 'I want this person to be happy'. I used to have an interest in writing.. The same thing applies there." _Perfect people are boring._

"She was actually going to write a book for Sugar Rush," Satoru added.

"Yeah, but then I realized that I'd be better off just adding it into a sequel game," Rio said, "That's what the story mode for Sugar Rush 2 is. For one racer to get first place in **every single race** in one day, taking the title 'Greatest Racer Ever'.. I don't want to give anything away though. You're not supposed to know your own endings until they happen." _It's a surprise._

"Yeah, none of ours got finished yet," Vannie said with a frown, "Taffyta's is the closest to being completed. Litwak stopped just one race short before leaving today." _I'd like to know my story mode's ending. I just have to wait. __I don't even know what kind of ending to expect.._

"I bet she's livid," Vanellope said with a laugh. _I don't have anything like that in my game, but I still get plenty of satisfaction from it._

"She seemed pretty happy to me," Felix said warmly, "She came get her and Rancis' younger counterparts and went out to eat, all smiles."

"She met her parents, that's why," Satoru said with a sheepish grin, "No matter what your opinion on our attempts at fixing things is, you can't deny that they have some merit." _There's at least one happy family made doing things this way __so far__._

"I never said they **didn't**," Ralph said, "Just that.. There's a such thing as going overboard." _Like making copies of people already running around. At least it makes sense with a new game, but this new Calhoun will be made for the sole purpose of making somebody happy. What kind of existence is that? It would be different if she was programmed like how we made Candice.. While King Candy wanted a daughter, we had __**her**__ happiness in mind more once she was underway._

"Yeah, like bringing back my dead fiance," Calhoun said. _He'd better not still come after __**me**__ after all this._

"Isn't that a good thing?" Vanellope(AR) asked softly as she put her hand on Calhoun's bare arm. _Wouldn't you normally be happy to have a loved one back __from the dead__?_

"I'm married to someone else now, sweetie.." Calhoun said warmly as she gently pushed Vanellope(AR)'s bangs out of her eyes, "To short stack over there." She nodded lovingly in Felix's direction. "It just complicates things having Brad alive. It's not that I **wish** he were still dead.." _But he's not the original anyways. There was no __**actual**__ original Brad in the first place. Just like she isn't the original Vanellope. Even ours is a copy of the original somewhere. I'm going to give myself a headache thinking about this.._

"I may be short," Felix said with a chuckle, "but I make up for it in **other** ways."

"What exactly **do** you have in mind for your copy?" Ralph asked. _Tha__t'__s a bit blunt.. __But at least she's the one programming her own copy, rather than leaving it in uncertain hands._

"She'll be like me except a little more thought out," Calhoun said firmly with a sigh, "I'm not going to make someone that looks exactly like me and program her to jump all over Brad at his beck and call if **that's** what you're worried about. I have no idea what this Brad is really like, but she'll be in love with him, sure. But she'll make up her own mind after that when she meets him." _And if it's a no go, so be it. __She'll be her own woman, capable of making her __**own**__ decisions. Just like __we made sure __Candice can. __And I'm putting a password lock on her code too. No fiddling with her code after she's done._

The group talked and talked as Calhoun did all the actual work in the room. Eventually Satoru got a call and excitedly walked off a bit to talk in private.

* * *

After receiving 850 cherries each for turning in their bags of seasoning bark, Jet's group decided to buy 10 slot backpacks for 500 cherries each at the supply store.

"Huh.. So you just pull them out like that," Jet said as he materialized and dematerialized his backpack by pulling at something behind him that was seemingly not even there, "That's convenient.." _Where it __goes__ is anybody's guess.. I just have to 'grab it'.._

"Yeah, don't think too hard on it," Ralph(AR) said with a chuckle, "It's magic, after all." _It just __**is**__._

"Ralph? Felix?" a young woman's voice called out from behind them while laughing, "I didn't expect to see you two here."

"Who are your friends?" a young man's voice called out cheerfully as the group turned around.

Ralph(AR) chuckled in the mildest of annoyance, hearing the man's voice and said in a knowing tone, "Penelope. Vincent.."

"We didn't expect to see you two here either," Felix(AR) said cheerfully before introducing Jet and the others.

"So you must be friends with Vanellope then," Penelope said with a wide, hopeful grin, "How is she doing? Is she here too?" _Satoru told us what happened. Or rather what __**happens**__. I __need__ to meet her.._

"I'm **sure** she is," Minty said excitedly, "I don't doubt for a second that Vannie wants to meet you as soon as possible." _They're really here! Vannie is going to be so happy._

"She probably **is** here," Garret said, "Although she might not know **you** are.." _For obvious reasons. Of course she could have met some of the other parents by now for all I know and put 2 and 2 together._

"I guess it would make sense," Vincent said with a grief-stricken frown, "Since apparently we **died**.. I can hardly believe that.." He ran his fingers through his hair. _But, well, Satoru said so. He would know.._

"I'm sure Satoru would be able to tell you if she's here or not," Jubileena said. _Satoru seems to be keeping everyone informed on things going by what we've heard of him so far.._

"Oh, doi," Penelope said with an annoyed chuckle, shaking her head slightly as she reached for her phone to turn it back on, "We didn't want to get interrupted.." _Our first date since getting plugged in._ She looked at the screen of her phone and sighed as a wry smile formed on her face. "Well he certainly tried calling us.. Three times."

"That's all the confirmation **I** need," Vincent said with a knowing chuckle. _I think we should go, but we just met these guys. It'd be kind of rude to leave so soon.._

"You better not keep her waiting," Crumbelina said knowingly while crossing her arms. _I'll wait until another day to meet my parents here. I don't so much care to see Dad after he left Mom the way he did. __Or __will__. Whatever._

"You're absolutely right.." Penelope said sheepishly, "Sorry guys, we'll talk later, okay?" _My daughter's friends are my friends. I guess that would be a good way to look at it anyways._

"It's okay," Jet said warmly, "We understand completely." _I only hope it goes well. I know Vanellope has chosen Ralph to be her dad.._

The couple walked off, with Penelope calling Satoru.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Someone was bound to run into them sooner or later, right? Anyways, I always thought it would be useful for the characters to have a reliable way of keeping in touch. Phones make sense.. Of course, nothing is free.. By the way, this is also one of the reasons I decided that characters who have made love with each other can communicate telepathically. Think of it as giving them privacy in a non-private situation. It's more subtle than whispering.


	96. Meeting Her Parents

"You two are lookin' pretty tired," Shanks said with a chuckle as he looked at his two daughters.

"I didn't sleep," Taffyta said sheepishly. _I was too worried about whether or not they'd be here.._

"Me neither.." little Taffyta said with a frown, "I was just thinking about what this game might be like, and since you guys were here in my backstory.." She smiled and giggled. "But you **are **here." _You're young, but you're here!_

"Well I got something fer that if yer interested," Shanks said as he pulled out a small tube of what appeared to be square-shaped taffy candy.

"Candy?" little Taffyta asked with a laugh. _I somehow didn't expect him to be a candy eater._

"Y-Well kinda," Shanks said with a chuckle, "They're revitalizin' chews. Gives ya energy fer a while. Good fer when ya need to run a lot especially."

"I'll be able to get to sleep later, right?" Taffyta asked with an uncertain laugh, "I'm dead bones tired right now.."

"Should be fine," Shanks said with a chuckle, "Ya just gotta burn off the energy and you'll be right back where ya started."

"I'll take one," little Taffyta said with a giggle as she grabbed one and began unwrapping it.

"I'll try one," little Rancis said eagerly as he patiently extended his open palm towards Shanks as little Taffyta stuck her chew in her mouth. _I hope the offer wasn't just to Taffyta and.. Taffyta._

"Go on ahead," Shanks said with a laugh, "I got plenty." He handed one of little Rancis.

"Don't mind if I do," Rancis said with a smirk as he grabbed one, "Come on Taffyta." He unwrapped his and put it in his mouth. _Ooh?!_

"Well if **some** people wouldn't skip the line," Taffyta said with a smile. Her words dripped with sarcasm. She accepted and unwrapped her chew, holding it in her fingers gingerly for a moment, looking at it as if she expected to find out some secret. _Well, here goes.._ She chuckled and put it in her mouth. All at once, a sudden surge of strawberry flavor assaulted her taste buds, delightfully drowning her exhaustion in a sea of raw energy. True to its name, the revitalizing chew revitalized her as well as the others. Every ounce of fatigue was gone in an instant. She shuddered excitedly and tapped her feet under the table, her nerves seemingly unable to contain the amount of energy given to her in a single piece of candy. _I have __**got**__ to get some more of those at some point.._

"Would you like one as well, darlin'?" Shanks asked Taffy wryly. _They're good ya know?_

"No thanks, I'd like to sleep today," Taffy said teasingly as she leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. She crossed her arms and gave him a playful smirk.

"Alright, so we've eaten!" little Taffyta said excitedly, though she was trying to suppress it as much as she could, "What do we do now?" She beamed. _Those __**have**__ to be magic or something. There's **no** way that was all natural.._

"Well, until Satoru finishes safety-fyin' Adrenaline Rush for ya'll little racers and anyone else coming through," Shanks said thoughtfully, "How about ya'll show Taffy and I around Sugar Rush? I ain't been there yet, remember?" _I plan to live there, I reckon I might as well get accustomed to it now._

"My game first," Taffyta said with an eager chuckle, "Since you guys are going to be living at her house. It's less traveling for you that way."

"I suppose that's true," Taffy said warmly before switching to Shanks' accent, "Alright, Shanks. I sure hope yer payin' fer our vittles."

"Now you ain't gotta pick on the accent," Shanks said with an annoyed smile, "'Course I'll pay fer the meal. You and me are the only ones with money at this table right now, and I ain't gonna make **you** pay." _Ain't no way fer a gentleman to act._

Shanks paid for the meal and gave a generous tip, then the group left for Sugar Rush 2.

* * *

"Well I think we've seen a good bit of Adrenaline Rush for one day," Jet said in an uncertain tone, "What would you guys say about us saving more exploration here for tomorrow and we go show off a bit of the arcade?" _It's just a thought. I could go either way, really. We could even go to Sugar Rush 1 or 2 and show them around there.._

"I don't see why not," Crumbelina said with a chuckle as she turned to look at Ralph(AR) and Felix(AR), "What do you two think?"

"Well I'm certainly interested in seeing the game our characters originated from," Felix(AR) said with a smirk, "Of course, there's also Sugar Rush and Sugar Rush 2. We could bring candy from there on our way back. Easy money, really." _They couldn't really change the rankings on ingredients, since those rankings are official.. Candy as 'ingredients'._ He chuckled. _Caramel, peppermint flakes and the like. Oh I think I'm going to love Sugar Rush.._

"It sounds like a plan to me," Ralph(AR) said with a chuckle, "So I guess we should head to my brother and I's counterparts' game first." _I won't refer to it by name. I won't give Felix that satisfaction. I can't say I'd be any different than him though if it was called Wreck-It Ralph._

The rest of the group simply nodded in reserved agreement while giving each other knowing glances. They left for the exit of Adrenaline Rush, looking forward to Ralph(AR) and Felix(AR)'s reactions to seeing Game Station East and West for the first time, as well as Fix-It Felix Jr. and Sugar Rush.

* * *

After Penelope finished her call with Satoru, she and Vincent quickly and excitedly made their way to the castle. They eagerly went inside, hoping to meet their two new daughters soon as humanly possible.

"Penelope!" King Candy(1) said with an excited laugh, "Vincent! It's.. It's good to see you." He laughed nervously. _It really is them.._ He eagerly walked up to them. _How exactly should I act in this situation? Do they even recognize me?_

"Mr. Kane," Penelope said with a warm chuckle as she bent down to give him a hug, "I see somebody's crown on your head."

"Oh this old thing?" King Candy(1) asked with a somber chuckle, "Well you know.. I-I missed you two so much.." _Vanellope was lucky, in a way, having forgotten until recently.. I only hope that things go well between them..  
_

"Well we're here, Mr. Kane," Penelope said gently as she patted his shoulders.

"How have things been for Vanellope?" Vincent asked as he shook King Candy(1)'s hand, "And Sugar Rush, naturally."

"I-I suppose that Ralph is probably the one you should be asking, really," King Candy(1) said evasively, "It's difficult for me to talk about.." _Oh, I probably should have said that differently.._

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked firmly, his brow furrowed with worry. _What did Ralph do?_

"I-I guess I should tell you," King Candy(1) said nervously, "The way I said that almost sounded as if Ralph did something wrong. If anything, it was I who dropped the ball, but there was nothing I could have done differently unless I knew ahead of time what was going to happen.." _It's **hard** to talk about.._

"Just explain, Mr. Kane," Penelope urged worriedly, "Is Vanellope alright?" _What happened between Ralph and Vanellope? Or Sugar Rush.. Whichever connection you were making with Ralph..  
_

"Oh, she's doing exceptionally well," King Candy(1) said with a laugh before he continued in his somber tone, "It's just that when our game was first plugged in, various things happened.. Ralph, Vannie and Vanellope should really be here for this conversation.." _I don't have the confidence I can explain it fully.._

"Where are they now?" Vincent asked with a sigh of relief. His tensions eased slightly as the news that his daughters were doing well sunk in, "Satoru said that both Vanellope from Sugar Rush and Sugar Rush 2 are here in the castle.." _How does Ralph of all people fit in with this? We just saw him a little while ago and **he** didn't say anything.. Wait, no. He said when their game was first plugged in.. It must be a different Ralph._

"They're over in the code room," Candice said apprehensively with her arms crossed casually. She tried to keep an air of being composed about her, but wasn't altogether convincing. _What happened to her in the past is tragic, but there's nothing to worry about now I hope.._

"Thank you, er.." Vincent said uncertainly. _I don't recognize this character either, but she looks like she must be from Sugar Rush 2 like the racers we just met a while ago.._

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," Candice said nervously, "I'm Candice Kane.." _By association you should be able to guess.._

"You got married?" Vincent asked King Candy(1) with a laugh.

Candice tensed up and had a horrified look on her face. _**Nooo**__! He's my __**dad**__! So embarrassing.. Dad, __**say**__ something.. _She covered her face with her hand as she looked downward.

"N-**no**! No no!.." King Candy(1) said with an extremely embarrassed laugh before a dead serious look slapped itself on his face, "**No**.. She's my **daughter**.." _Oh for crying out loud.. Now that's something I don't want to hear __**ever**__ again.._

"Since **when** do you have a daughter?" Penelope asked with a bemused expression on her face. _I should have known if you have a daughter.._

"Since.. today," King Candy(1) said apprehensively as he wrung his hands, "It will make sense when you speak with Ralph, Vannie, and Vanellope.." _Everything is tied to them.._

"Well let's go then," Vincent urged as softly as he could under the circumstances, "I need to meet with them anyways." _I have no idea where this is going. Mr. Kane is being oddly evasive.._

King Candy(1), Candice, Vincent, and Penelope wandered off to the code room.

"Is everything alright?" Ging asked worriedly, "That was somewhat intense.."

"It nothing to worry about," Zombie said while adopting a thinking pose, "Many things happen. Not easy for Zombie to explain."

* * *

Vanellope was busy giggling as she and Vanellope(AR) hung onto Ralph's extended arms, using them as makeshift swings.

"Makes me wonder what you guys are even in here for," Calhoun scoffed, "Why don't you go play outside so I can think?"

"Sorry, Tammy," Vanellope(AR) said sheepishly as she stopped swinging, "You're not mad at me, are you?"

Calhoun sighed and said, "It's nearly impossible to be mad at you, but I want to finish this before leaving today." She looked up at the entrance of the code room. _Who's that? **Another** Vanellope? No?  
_

"S-so this is where you were.." Penelope said apprehensively as she, Vincent, King Candy(1), and Candice entered the code room. She smiled nervously as both Vanellope and Vanellope(AR) dropped down from Ralph's arms.

Vanellope(AR) was confused by her counterparts' reactions. _I should probably stay quiet. That's the feeling I get.._ Vanellope and Vannie stood there frozen with shock upon seeing their real parents standing before them, not even 10 feet away. Or at least young versions of their real parents.

Vannie approached them slowly, hesitantly. Her heart lurched at the sight of the two before her, as if they may merely be phantoms, or perhaps vivid hallucinations. They came to such a tragic, abrupt end that day, but there they were, no worse for wear, and not much older than her. _It really __**is**__ them, isn't it? _She breathed shakily through her nose as she slowly inched closer to the pair._ Mom.. Dad.. They may be younger, but everything else about them lines up __**perfectly**__.._ The tears she choked back couldn't be held any longer as she reached Penelope and melted into her loving, longing arms. "It's you.." she said. Her voice trembled as the two words escaped her mouth as barely more than a whisper. _I never even got to say goodbye to you back then.._

Vannie held Penelope in her arms tightly, as if letting up in the slightest would cause her to disappear forever. She sobbed, thinking of all the times she intentionally relived the memory of their deaths just so she could see them even one more time. That **one** memory she had of them. Making them proud was **always** at the forefront of her mind as she raced. It was the one promise she **knew,** in the deepest depths of her code, that she **needed** to keep. The only promise she had ever made to them. It was her greatest wish to be able to bring that trophy to their graves and say, 'See? I became greatest racer ever.. Just like I told you I would..'

Vanellope held onto Ralph's leg tightly and rested her forehead on it as tears streamed down her cheeks. _Why do I suddenly feel like this __**now**__? It's been __**15 years**__.. What should I __**do**__, Ralph? What should I say __to them__? I'm so happy, and yet.. They're going to be upset, because I still want __**you**__ to be my dad. __The same goes for Vannie as my mom__.. It's too much. It's too soon for __me to meet them__.. __It was so much easier with King Candy.._

"It's okay, sweetie," Penelope said to Vannie as tears gently rolled down her cheeks, "It's okay.." _We're here.. We're alive, and we're here.._

"Mom.." Vannie croaked, "I couldn't even say **goodbye** before.." She sniffled. "I missed you **so much**.." _If I didn't have Ralph, I don't know what I'd __have done__.._

"We're here now," Vincent said softly as he gently placed his hand on Vannie's back, "We're not going anywhere." _My poor girl.. You've been through a lot, haven't you? But why hasn't your younger self come over yet?_

Vannie whimpered at Vincent's touch, only then finally allowing herself to let go of her mom. She turned to face him, her face was full of tears and a loving, yet uncertain smile. She embraced him longingly without a second thought, burying her face into his shoulder.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me.." Vannie whispered as she hugged him as if his life depended on it. _I don't want to lose you again.. I have so many things to __ask__ you, to __tell__ you, to __**show**__ you.. __Especially Ralph. You'll never believe the man I found.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** And so they meet.


	97. Family Discussion

Vannie chuckled and sniffled after a while of tightly hugging her father. "I must look pretty dumb right now," she said sheepishly. _I'm __**finally**__ calming down.._

"Not at all," Vincent said lovingly as he pushed her bangs away from her eyes. She smiled at him shyly and looked at the ground as she composed herself. "I don't think anyone can blame you under the circumstances."

Ralph smiled sadly and picked Vanellope up into his giant, protective arms. _Come on, Vanellope. It'll be alright. Even if you do end up choosing them, you know exactly where to find me.. _She let out a whimper of fearful protest, gripping his hoodie tightly in her small hands as he slowly made his way to Penelope and Vincent.

Vanellope gazed into Ralph's caramel colored eyes pleadingly as new tears stained her cheeks. _Ra~lph. I can't.. What do you expect me to do here? I love them.. I **do**.. But it hurts so much, knowing what I have to do to them.. **How**? How can I tell them without hurting them?_

Ralph chuckled sheepishly as he came to a stop in front of Vannie, Penelope, and Vincent. With his free hand he ran his fingers through his hair cautiously. "I think she forgot how to walk," he said as nonchalant as he could manage. _You have to do this, Vanellope. I know this is something you need.. Don't worry about me.. _He fought back the tears that began welling in his eyes. _I can't cry. I have to be strong, for her sake._

"Did not.." Vanellope mumbled shyly as she wrung her hands. _Ralph..What are you thinking?_

"What's the matter, sweetie?" Penelope asked softly as she wiped away a few of Vanellope's tears, "It's okay.."

"I just.." Vanellope started, but shook her head solemnly as no other words would come out. _What do I say? I can't just say it flat out. That's what I want to avoid most.._

"Vannie.." Vincent said pleadingly, "If there's anything wrong, just say so.." _What's happened to her? It has something to do with Ralph, apparently._ He eyed Ralph worriedly as Penelope did the same.

Ralph's skin crawled uncomfortably as both Penelope and Vincent assessed him. He desperately wracked his brain, trying to decide how to approach this situation. _Should I tell them everything that happened? Do they know what happened already? Vanellope, come on. They're worried about you.. You should at least say something to them.._

Vanellope breathed deeply with her eyes closed, trying to work out what she wanted to say. Vincent and Penelope's attention fell back to her. "I'm sorry.."

"For what, Vannie?" Vincent asked gently. _Why are you sorry?_

Vanellope shook her head and said, "**She's** the one that goes by Vannie.." She sighed shakily, desperately wishing this weren't the first conversation she would have with them outside of her backstory. "I.. I **do** love you.. A whole lot.."

"Well that's good news," Penelope said worriedly. _What is it, sweetie? What has you so conflicted?_

"Let me finish.. Sorry, I didn't mean that to say it like that.." Vanellope said earnestly as she clutched part of Ralph's orange hoodie tightly in her hands, "I already **have** parents now." She looked at them with the sincerest, most apologetic face she could manage. _I'm sorry.. _"I didn't even **know** about you guys for 15 years because of someone taking over my game, making me a glitch.."

Penelope and Vincent listened patiently, their hearts breaking more and more as Vanellope continued.

"Those 15 years, I lived by myself," Vanellope said, "Everybody said I was mistake and that I wasn't even supposed to exist." She long blinked, the hurt of that time rushing back. "I made Diet Cola Mountain my home early on when I discovered the secret entrance to its unfinished bonus track. I was **safe** there.."

"Oh, my poor baby.." Penelope said with tears in her eyes. _I can't believe it.._

"That's when Ralph showed up though," Vanellope said with all the adoration in the world as she loosened her grip on his hoodie and smoothed out the wrinkles she had made in it, "He risked gaming over for good and stopped the guy who took over my game. He **saved** me from all that.. After 15 long years, I finally had a friend. And thanks to him, I had the friends I was always meant to have as well.." She wiped her eyes vigorously. "That's why I made **him** my dad. And his girlfriend, Vannie, is like a mom to me already. She's just plain awesome. I just don't know you guys. I **can't** consider you my parents over them. It's final, I'm sorry.." _I wish I could say it better.. That didn't sound at all how I wanted it to.._

"Final?.." Vincent said in grief-stricken disbelief. _Wait.._

"I'm sorry.." Vanellope said earnestly, "That's just how things turned out.. But I **do** love you. It's just that **nothing** can replace Ralph. **Ever**." _It hurts.. _She blinked as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

"But that's.." Vincent said confusedly, "Do you mean to tell me that Ralph is dating 'you' while being your father? What?" He looked at Ralph, unsure just how upset he should be. _What kind of relationship exactly do you have?_

Vanellope flinched, feeling the edge of his words. _No.._

"Dad," Vannie said pleadingly, "It's **not** like that.. We may be the same character, but she and I are different.." _Why are you jumping to conclusions? If you just give us a chance to explain, it will all make sense.._

"Different?" Vincent asked sadly as his blood began to boil, "You're **both** Vanellope von Schweetz! Do you really **not** see a conflict of interest here?!" _You just can't **do** something like that.._

"Dad!" Vannie pleaded in a firmer voice, "You're not **listening**.. It was **my** idea to date Ralph, okay? There's nothing like that going on between Ralph and **her**." _Don't ruin this.. We finally met.._

"Well it sure doesn't look like it to me," Vincent said, "**I** see what's going on, can't **you**? Ralph always did have a thing for Penelope. I see now it extends to **all** versions of Ralph. Look at yourselves. He's making a little family to mirror the one **I've** made." _As if he was meant to be living **my** life all along.._

Ralph could feel his blood boiling, though he desperately quashed the wrecking urges he was getting. He was unable to find the words to adequately express the depth of just how wrong Vincent is about this whole thing. _I never would have expected him to take it like this.._ He clenched and unclenched the fist of his free arm a few times slowly, trying to be as patient as he possibly could for Vanellope and Vannie's sakes. _If I open my mouth it's only going to make things worse.. If I move even one step, that will make things even worse than **that**._

Vanellope clenched her teeth angrily and breathed hard through her nose. _Is this really the kind of person you are? You can't be serious.. _"Listen here, buster," she said in a demanding, yet still quivering voice, "You need to calm down. Is this really the kind of attitude you should be displaying? Why isn't anyone but me and Vannie saying anything about this? Is this **normal** for you?" _What happened to the loving 'father' from just a moment ago? Was that just an act? It couldn't be.._

"She's right," Penelope said gently as she placed her hand on Vincent's back, "Calm down, honey.." _It hurts that she's found a different family, but.._ "You really shouldn't be lashing out at the person who saved our daughter and her game.." _And what's all this about Ralph making a family to mirror ours? Ralph was programmed long before either of us were even ideas._

Vincent began to pace in a thoughtful manner, staring at the marble floor of the code room as he did so. _Calm down you say.._ He breathed deeply. _I can't accept this. If it was one or the other it wouldn't be nearly as bad. But you can't date someone and have that **same person** be your daughter. That's just sick.._

"Vincent," Queen Lemma said with a disappointed sigh, "You **know** it's not like this crazy theory you've cooked up. Do you honestly think that any of your daughters would allow something like **that** to happen?"

"I'm just really confused here," Vanellope(AR) said sadly, "Ralph is an awesome person. Why are you guys fighting?" _I don't fully understand, but I think Mom and Dad must be dead in their games.._

"Just playing devil's advocate here," Satoru said nervously as he wrung his hands, "But it **is** weird, Ralph dating Vannie, who is the older version of Vanellope, who he is taking care of as his daughter.." _No matter how you look at it, it's weird._

"Not now, dear.." Rio said as she lightly slapped Satoru's arm with the back of her hand. _You're making things worse for **everyone** by saying that._

"Well they've got two different sets of memories anyway, right?" Vanellope(AR) asked confusedly, "They know people I don't, and I'm sure I know people they don't.. It's a little weird on the surface, but if it makes them happy.." _I don't want my new sisters to be upset.. Ralph clearly has an important place in both their hearts. I can see why, too.. Even if that means that the little me has different parents.._

"And so what if it might be weird?" Candice asked apprehensively. _Don't get mad at me please.. I'm not used to this kind of situation._ "Ralph's memory was erased when he started falling in love with Vannie. When his game was reset with him in it, he didn't even remember Vanellope. It wasn't until **later**, when she brought him to Sugar Rush, that he really remembered her.." She swallowed hard, her throat dry from the tension in the room. "Vincent.. If **you** had come across a younger version of Penelope right now, how would you treat her?" She crossed her arms. "How would **you** feel if she was an orphan and only wanted **you** and Penelope to take care of her?" _Please see it our way.._

Vincent stopped pacing for two seconds, considering Candice's words before pacing again. _How would I feel? I don't like 'what if' scenarios.. For sure I definitely wouldn't leave Penelope.. As for what to do about a child Penelope.. I don't know.. But regardless, Vanellope doesn't **have** to be an orphan anymore. **We're** here!_

Penelope crossed her arms, her gaze hitting him like daggers whenever their eyes occasionally met. _Honey.. Under the circumstances I think this is probably for the best.. It's not like she hates us. Although **you're** on the fast track down that road with how you're acting. Vanellope is a smart girl. All three of them are. I **highly** doubt Ralph would take advantage of **any** of them. Besides, two out of three Vanellopes agree that **we're** their parents. Isn't that enough? And you really shouldn't talk about Ralph's history like that. So what if he liked me? That was a **year** ago._

Vincent looked away and continued pacing. _Are you seriously okay with this? Even Satoru is on my side.._

Penelope shook her head. _Satoru only agrees that it's weird. __**You're**__ the only person trying to ruin two of our daughters' happiness by making a scene. She still loves us, Vincent. She's just found different p__arents__. Parents who love her and have actually spent time with her.. Ralph saved __Vanellope's__**entire game**__at the risk of dying. A__nd she was alone for 15 years without any memory of us. What d__o__ you __think__ would happen? __**We're**__ the replacements here in this equation, __Vincent. N__ot Ralph._

"Would you stop pacing already?" Vanellope asked firmly with tears still in her eyes. Her arms were crossed in discontent. _Back and forth. Back and forth. You can think while standing still, you know?_ "We're still waiting for an apology." _I said I still love you, you know?_ _It's not like you can make Vannie stop dating Ralph anyway. The same goes for Ralph being my dad. You're just behaving like a sore loser the way I see it. Why did you have __to__ flip out like that? __You were supposed to be a kind, loving, sweet person. And you __**were**__, until just now.._

Vincent exhaled heavily through his nose as he stopped pacing and looked at the faces of everyone in the room. There wasn't a smile among the bunch. _Am I seriously out of line here?_

"Just apologize, Vincent," Peneloped urged him gently as she walked over to him and hugged him, "You're just upset. They understand that, okay? Just take deep breaths and calm down." _You know I'm upset about it too, but she's made up her mind.._

"I'm.. sorry," Vincent said reluctantly as he hugged Penelope back. _I still can't accept it though. But for her sake I won't fight about it. _He looked around at everyone once more, gently breaking away from his future wife's embrace. "I'm sorry.." He quickly walked out of the code room and out of the castle to get some fresh air.

Calhoun sighed. _Well, that happened. He knows he's overreacting. He'll probably get over it._

_Jaminy.. I hope so._ Felix sighed. _Ralph did good staying calm throughout all that._

Ralph let out a heavy sigh._ Thankfully I wasn't the one whose opinion was outnumbered. I can understand where he's coming from, but he can't keep seeing things that way, for their sakes. I want them to get along with each other. I want to get along with him.._ He opened his fist and looked at his palm. _I'm just glad I didn't end up wrecking anything._

"I'm sorry.." Vanellope said earnestly while looking at Penelope, "Thank you for sticking up for us.." _You're a really good person.._

"He's a little hot-tempered sometimes.." Penelope said with a frown and a sigh, "I'm disappointed you don't want me to be your mom, but as long as you're happy I can accept it.." _I wish our game came out at the same time as yours.._

"You could always be like a second mom, I guess?" Vanellope said sheepishly, "I don't know what I would call that.. Vannie kind of has three dads now, counting both King Candys and now hothead.."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, I wasn't exactly sure how to do this scene to be honest. I knew I wanted Vincent to not accept it though.


	98. Talking Sense

"Can I get a hug, at least?" Penelope asked shyly and hopefully as she lovingly placed the back of her hand on Vanellope's forehead, running it down to her cheek.

Vanellope chuckled sheepishly and said, "Yeah, of course.." _I'd like that._ She rolled her eyes. "Here, hold me.. Sorry Ralph, your arms are comfy, but I gotta get up." She turned so that Penelope could pick her up into her expectant arms.

"So I take it Ralph has been a good daddy," Penelope said sheepishly as she looked over to Ralph while hugging Vanellope with all the love she could muster. _I can tell how much you love him, sweetie._

Ralph chuckled and scratched his head in embarrassment and crossed his arms. _It may be selfish of me keeping Vanellope, but thank you.. Just __**please**__ at least let them stay in your life, Vanellope.._ _It would be great if we could talk things over with Vincent once he calms down.. He must have gotten th__at__ hot-temperedness from me. I was originally going to **be** him until they decided otherwise, after all.. And thank goodness for that. I've just had 30 years to control my temper better whereas he's got a clean slate to work off of. Although it's still just plain impossible to stay calm sometimes.._

Vannie hugged Ralph tightly. _It'll be okay Ralph. You did good not wrecking anything. You could have made it a lot worse if **your** temper got out of control. _She chuckled._ I saw you making a fist repeatedly._

Ralph hugged Vannie back with one arm, placing his chin on top of her head and took a deep breath. _I love you girls so much.._

"That's an understatement," Vanellope said lovingly as she leaned into Penelope's embrace, "I wish Vincent wouldn't have badmouthed Ralph.. I would take him as Dad number 2 as well.." She chuckled sadly. _Number 2.._ "Vannie and I different.. He just can't see that.." _Ralph had a hard time seeing it too, but he has a good excuse, having traces of me still in his memory when he met Vannie._

"He knows he shouldn't have acted that way," Penelope said as she kissed Vanellope's forehead, "He just can't help it sometimes. He just loves you so much and doesn't want anyone taking you away." _Technically he's taking both of you away._

"That and he's dating the older me," Vanellope said sheepishly, "Yeah, I know.. I know it's weird, but I don't care. Vannie is perfect for Ralph. I just don't see him like that, being a kid and all. Vincent is the one being weird, suggesting otherwise."

Felix's stomach growled. _Shh! Oh, hi.._ The others looked at him incredulously as he grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Vanellope(AR) said with a laugh before turning serious, "So how did they die?" She frowned. "I think I got a pretty good picture of what's going on.." _I can understand why they wouldn't tell me. But I know now, so you might as well fill me in. It's not like **they're** going to die.  
_

"They got into a kart accident," King Candy(1) said somberly. _When I heard about it.._ He sighed shakily. _I can't believe Vanellope was forced to witness it._ His heart lurched.

"So then who took care of me, you?" Vanellope(AR) asked. _Since you're apparently King.._

"That's right," King Candy said lovingly, "I did everything I could.."

"I didn't accept it for a long while though," Vannie said with a frown. _I didn't think anyone could __replace them. But Ralph would have been a good dad. He __**is**__ a good dad, to her. It's not like Dad is a bad dad either._

Queen Lemma sighed and said, "Let's go eat, everyone. You too Tamora. Come on now, you can finish her later." _I'm sorry we've been bothering you, dear. Perhaps this really wasn't the best place for a reunion.._

Calhoun sighed patiently and added a password lock to the unfinished Calhoun's file. _**Nobody**__ is going to mess with her. __**Especially**__ not Satoru. I can't trust him with our files. You get a copy, you get a copy. __**No**__. What I'm doing is probably going too far as it is._ She joined the others as they, Ging and Zombie headed to the dining room while Penelope to the courtyard to find Vincent.

* * *

"Whoooie!" Shanks said excitedly as he took in the candy scenery of Sugar Rush 2. _Bit odd, those surge protectors and all that 'Game Station' stuff. But __**this**__! __**This**__ is more like it._ "Ain't never seen anything like this before, believe it or not." _Since I have no idea where I came from before going to Adrenaline Rush._

"Yeah, Dad," Taffyta said sarcastically, "I can **hardly** believe it.. So what would you like to check out first?" _There's not as much here as in Adrenaline Rush, since it's so massive, but Sugar Rush is pretty big too. Just mostly when racers are choosing tracks.  
_

"I'd like to know where you live, sweetie," Taffy said sheepishly, "It'd be best to know something like that." _You're probably hardly ever home unless you're sleeping though._

"We can do that later, Mom," Taffyta said with a laugh, "I want to show you around the **game**!" _That candy from before isn't letting up in the slightest. I feel like I can go all day._

"We could always just drive them around the tracks," Rancis said with a chuckle, "Pretty much everything here is part of a race track except for the town and castle." _Of course they're only full tracks when players select those areas to race on._

"I think that's a good idea," little Taffyta said, "I haven't been here all that much either." _Since we're usually always hanging around in my game._

"Alright," Taffyta said, "So we've got the Pocky Plains, Sugar Beach, Diet Cola Mountain, the Taffy Swamp.. She listed about 15 more tracks. "You get the picture." She laughed. "There's a lot of them. 50 in total not counting the unfinished track by Sugar Beach." _Pick one._

"Taffy Swamp?" Shanks asked with a chuckle, "Somehow that sounds appropriate."

* * *

"Names?" William said in a tired monotone as Ralph(AR) and Felix(AR) walked out of the gateway of Adrenaline Rush behind Jet and the others. To them it seemed as though he appeared out of nowhere. He was looking down at his clipboard, flipping to a new page. _Ashley is busy at the moment with the E-Z Livin' guys, I may as well help out._

"Uh.. Wreck-It Ralph," Ralph(AR) said confusedly. _No last name given._

"Fix-It Felix Jr." Felix(AR) said cheerfully, "How can I help you today, sir?" _This guy must be some sort of security guard._

William looked up confusedly and said, "So I see.. One moment.." He looked up at the gateway to see the name of the game they came out of and flipped through to the back of his clipboard for Adrenaline Rush's character listing. _Fix-It Felix Jr., Wreck-It Ralph.. Everything checks out, but wow.. I didn't expect to see another Ralph and Felix pair.. I might as well make nice, __Ralph isn't such a bad guy now that I got to know him some.._ "Alright, everything checks out." He cleared his throat. "Sorry about that, just standard security measures after the whole Turbo incident.." _Admittedly there are security holes to address.._

"No problem, buddy," Ralph(AR) said warmly, "So what's **your** name?" _Maybe I should have asked more politely?_

"William Olsen," William said plainly as he practically forced his hand out for a handshake, though he gave off the impression he shook peoples' hands regularly, "I'm one of three surge protectors here in Litwak's Arcade. _No need for the 'Family Fun Center' bit._

"So I'm guessing you must know the other Ralph and I," Felix(AR) said cheerfully as he and Ralph shook William's hand.

Jet and the others simply stood back, patiently holding back any urges to laugh they may have. _The look on William's face was priceless._

"A **bit**, yes," William said with a nod, "They're quite famous around here, don't you know? Saved that sweet little game over there about half a year ago." He pointed with his thumb over to Sugar Rush's gateway which wasn't very far at all. "Anyhow, welcome to the arcade you two. I'm guessing you probably mean to go towards the **game** Fix-It Felix Jr.. If that's the case you'll want to take the monorail at the end of the power strip. It leads to Game Station West.

"Got it," Ralph(AR) said warmly, "So I'm guessing then that this out here is Game Station East." He gestured to the large, almost mall-like building they seemed to be in. It was as if the gateways were merely doors leading into small stores with long, dark hallways. _Surely there wouldn't be a West without an East._

"Right," William said, "Anyhow, I'll let you guys be on your way." _We've all got things to do, I'm sure._

"Later, William," Jet said with a reserved smile. _At least he doesn't stop me anymore.._

William nodded and zipped away, disappearing into the power strip's circuitry. _Just keep your nose clean like you've been doing._

They took a ride on the monorail, quickly reaching Game Station West where they had a similar conversation with Alex, the cheerful surge protector who sometimes accidentally made conversations turn awkward, particularly when it comes to meeting people for the first time.

With that taken care of they finally went to Fix-It Felix Jr., though half of them had to wait until the mine carts came back, as there simply wasn't enough room for them to all go at once.

* * *

Penelope exited the large, traditionally designed castle and made her way to her future husband who was sitting down in the castle's courtyard, tossing small chunks of shortbread cookies into a small pond of hot Earl Grey tea, which had lemon flavored fish swimming in it. The cookies littered the edge of the pond like small stones.

Vincent had calmed down considerably, however he still couldn't bring himself to accept that his daughter was both Ralph's girlfriend and daughter at the same time. _Why doesn't anyone else see how messed up this is?_

"The one making it messed up is you, honey," Penelope said gently as she sat down next to him, holding her legs close to her chest, "It's not like how you're imagining. You have **got** to realize that by now.." _It would be different if they shared the same body, but they __**don't**__.._

"I can't.." Vincent said with soft frustration emanating from his words, "I just can't see it the way you and everyone else seems to.." _Vanellope is Vanellope.._

Penelope sighed, rubbing the top of Vincent's head softly and said, "You're being impossible, Vincent.. The way you're thinking about this situation is as if they weren't individuals. The **only** thing identical about them aside from their name and a similar appearance is their life up to 8 years old. Our daughter in this game's life diverges from that of our daughters from Sugar Rush and Sugar Rush 2 at that point." She breathed deeply. "I don't know **all** of the details either, but Ralph met them in different situations, at different stages in their life. They're **not** just the same exact person in three separate bodies... Ralph isn't dating the little one, okay? He's only taking care of her in our place." _And apparently doing a good job._

Vincent sighed, leaning his forehead into the base of his palms. "I **know** all that.." he said earnestly, "I **know**, but it's still disturbing.. It worries me. Even more so because I'm powerless to do anything about it.."

"You have **nothing** to worry about, honey," Penelope said reassuringly, "Ralph is a good father, Vanellope told me so herself. If he wasn't, don't you think she would have stayed with Mr. Kane?" _I'm still not sure what made her not stay with Mr. Kane.. I can only assume it had something to do with her living alone for 15 years. My poor baby.._

"That may be the case.." Vincent said as he leaned into Penelope's arm, "But I don't think it will ever sit right with me.."

"Can you at least promise not to stir the pot?" Penelope asked gently, "She still loves us, honey. She says you can be 'Dad number 2'.. Don't you think that's saying something?"

"It's saying she thinks Ralph is better than me.." Vincent grumbled.

"Well maybe in **her** eyes," Penelope said with a sigh, "But she still wants us in her life, Vincent. Even after 15 years of living alone with no memory of us at all. She still wants us in her life. But you can't do that if you keep up this grudge against Ralph. He doesn't deserve that and you know it."

"We'll see.." Vincent said solemnly.

"And don't take it out on the Ralph from our game either," Penelope said, "**He** doesn't deserve it either. You know you don't have to worry about him taking me away from you or whatever you might be thinking about him."

Vincent scoffed, "You really shouldn't read my thoughts as much as you do." _No idea why that even happens.._

"Well you ought to keep them to yourself more then," Penelope scoffed back, "You're practically broadcasting them at max volume. You're lucky I'm the only one that seems to hear them." _Only seems to work when I want it to as well. Should be the same for him.._ "Now are you ready to go in? They're about to eat. We might as well sit down and talk with them." _Luckily our dining room is big enough to fit 16 people.. I wonder how they managed to get a zombie to not eat their brains though.. Ging gets a kick out of it I'm sure._

"Fine.." Vincent said, "But don't expect me to talk to Ralph."

"What, even if he talks to you?" Penelope asked incredulously, "Be reasonable, honey.."

Vincent sighed. _I need some sleep.._ "Fine, I give up.. I'll act nice to him." _But don't expect me to enjoy doing it._

"Don't worry," Penelope said with a sigh, "I know when I'm expecting too much."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I kind of like Penelope and Vincent's characters already. I'm trying my hardest not to make Penelope into just another copy of Vanellope, haha.


	99. In Short

"Sorry we're late," Penelope said sheepishly as she and Vincent took the two empty seats across from Vannie and Ralph in the castle's dining room. Vanellope(AR) was sitting across from Vanellope, who was on Ralph's left.

"Yeah.." Vincent said reluctantly, crossing his arms. He tried his best not to glare at Ralph, who unfortunately enough, was sitting right across from him. _It's like staring into a set of funhouse mirrors._

"No arguing at the table, okay?" Vanellope said suddenly as she rested her head on her arms, "Just in case you've got the urge to do so."

"He won't," Vanellope(AR) said with a laugh, "Mom talked to him so I'm sure everything's fine."

Vincent sighed in contemplation. _Even she is on their side. Well of course she would side with her other two selves. It's not her fault though, she would have grown up to be just like them if we __actually__ aged._

"Are you going to be okay, Dad?" Vannie asked somewhat worriedly. _I don't want you to be mad at Ralph for anything. Especially not something as small as this._

"I'm okay, Vannie," Vincent said begrudgingly, "I just need time to think.." _I highly doubt I can accept something like this, but I can at least try not to let it bother me as much._

"So can you explain the entire thing to me?" Penelope asked Vanellope, "From when Ralph met you, I mean." _It sounds like a wonderful story. Someone could probably even make a movie out of it.._

"That's a long story," Vanellope said with a laugh, "I can summarize it though. What level of detail did you want?" _High, medium, low?_

Penelope chuckled. _You're such a little sweetheart._ "Okay, whatever you think is worth mentioning is fine." _I just want to know._

"You already ate, dear?" Queen Lemma asked Penelope. _I was hoping to keep this kind of talk away from the dining table._

"Yeah, we went eat out not long ago," Penelope said with a chuckle. _Mom, she's about to tell us a good story.. Sheesh._

[[[[[ Recap of the movie. You'll possibly want to skip this part since I only add some reactions. If you want to skip this, use ctrl + f and search for "End of recaps" ]]]]]

"So anyways," Vanellope said with a chuckle, "It was 6 months ago, right? Something like that. I haven't been counting the days or anything." _Don't go off on tangents, Vanellope._ "It had been 15 years since this grey-skinned guy from Turbo Time took over my game. He was the main character of that game, **Turbo**. King Candy says that on the day we were plugged in, and everyone was having the first Random Roster Race, Turbo snuck into the code room and hijacked his character." _Even made him crash during the race, very uncharacteristic for any of us.._

"That's right.." King Candy(1) said solemnly, "I'm sorry, I'll let you tell it.." He laughed sheepishly as Penelope and Vincent turned to look at him. _No need to worry about me, it's __**fine**__ now._

Penelope frowned. _So that's why Vanellope didn't want him to be her dad.._

"Before going further into that.." Vanellope said, "Ralph was tired of being picked on for 30 years. More or less the same way I got picked on, since he was a villain character in the game he hails from. He went to Hero's Duty where Tammy comes from, and got a medal thinking it'd impress the guys that Felix always used to hang around with.. Say what you want to say, Ralph." She smirked at him knowingly. _You can't resist explaining your reasoning._

Ralph scoffed, moving his tongue around in his closed mouth. _She knows me well._ "It was a dumb idea that only made sense to me at the time. See, Felix gets a medal after the player beats a level in our game and I told Gene, the mayor of Niceland, that I'd get a medal and in return he said I'd be allowed to live in the penthouse instead of the pile of bricks I used to call home. So when I heard from Leon, a soldier from Hero's Duty, that you win a medal by climbing a tower, I went steal a medal from there, accidentally hatching a Cy-bug egg when I stepped on it in the process. It latched onto my face and I kind of brought it with me to Sugar Rush in an escape shuttle I tripped and fell into." _Your turn._

Felix nodded slowly. _Gene has gotten a lot better about making the kind of comments he made that day though. He may have even had a hand in Turbo going Turbo for all I know. Even though they were pretty good friends._

"Hero's don't steal, Ralph," Vanellope said teasingly, "They **loot**.. So that brings us to when we meet. I was playing around in the Candy Cane Forest, climbing the candy trees, when I saw Ralph crash land in that shuttle. I went greet him after he started climbing one of the candy trees trying to get the medal he looted from Hero's Duty." She chuckled. _Duty._ "I was a bit mean to him, being used to people treating me bad, and raced him to the top for the medal. Since all of the connections between me and the game were ripped up I only had a vague understanding of the importance of the gold medal, which at the time I thought was a gold coin.. We use gold coins to enter races in Sugar Rush and it was the only gold coin **I** was ever going to get, since at the time I was nothing more than a glitch who didn't have racing privileges, thanks to Turbo." _Good thing he's dead now._

Vincent listened intently. _He's a_ _thief on top of it all._

Penelope sighed. _I can still hear you. Even if he **did** steal the medal, it's not like they wouldn't get a new one when the game reset. You know that. So did he._

Vanellope took a deep breath and readied more of her story. _What was after that again? Oh yeah._ "So I stole his medal and used it to enter the Random Roster Race which was soon to be underway. He chased me down and wrecked the audience stands trying to catch me." She chuckled. "He ended up getting stuck in a giant cupcake that fell on him and was brought to the castle while I escaped back to the Junkyard where I started working on my pedal-powered kart that wouldn't have won the race anyway. I just knew in my code that I **had** to race." _I still had Felix fix it for me later on.. I never use it, but I like the old thing._

Vincent nodded. _Chasing down a child._

Penelope glanced at Vincent. _Sh__e stole his medal. Relax, honey._

Vanellope studied them to see if they were still following. _Okay. _"The race was postponed until the stands could be fixed, so I had plenty of time to prepare," she said with a sad smile, "When I was working on my kart, Taffyta and some of the other racers came and smashed it to make sure I couldn't race. That was Turbo's fault too, by the way. He had locked up their memories in the code room. Early on when they tried to help me a few times by giving me gold coins, he also reprogrammed them to just.. not care." _I'm glad that fixed itself._

"How did that get fixed?" Penelope asked, "Reprogramming the racers, I mean.."

"I'll explain it later, but it fixed itself," Vanellope said, "Anyways, when I tried to stop them from breaking my kart further, Taffyta pushed me into a chocolate mud puddle, which sent Ralph over the edge. He had tracked me down after following the other racers to the Junkyard and was watching then pick on me."

"I was trying to wait for the right moment to approach them," Ralph said, "King Candy said that the medal would go to the winner of the race along with all of the other gold coins. And I thought for sure I needed that medal before I could go back to my game." He sighed. _Of course, I was stupid for thinking that._

Vanellope took a bite of food. _I should eat too._ "Yeah, well anyway.. Ralph got **real** mad and scared them off because he was always getting thrown in mud too, so he knew how it felt. He still pretty much hated me at the time and I didn't like him either, but that changed instantly after I made him a deal that I'd win back his medal if he helped me make a real kart." _Leaving out his little tantrum.._ "He helped me make the kart and even taught me how to drive again in this really cool race track he made for me in my old home at Diet Cola Mountain." _Unfortunately that got reset with the rest of the game._

"It was difficult.. and painful," Ralph said with a nervous chuckle, "I didn't even know how to drive either, it was all just trial and error." _Ramming the kart into my face and legs for a few hours.._

"You helped a lot though," Vanellope beamed, "It's one of my happiest memories." _Even Vannie kept that memory from back when she had unwillingly merged with me. I don't know how many she kept without saying anything, but I could feel her access that one and a few others. Like the one where I saved Ralph, and what happened after._

"So what happened after that?" Vincent asked reluctantly. _This Turbo character seems to be pretty ruthless.. I'm glad he didn't know how to delete characters. Someone like that having that kind of power is scary.._

"I'm not sure exactly how it happened," Vanellope said, "But Turbo bribed Ralph into smashing my kart and leaving by giving him back his medal." _It's something I never wanted to talk about.._

"He went into the code room and took it out of the Winner's Cup," King Candy(1) said solemnly, "And he didn't **bribe** Ralph.. He **tricked** him. You see, even then Ralph had started to see Vanellope as a daughter. I could see it in his eyes.. Turbo told Ralph that if she ever made it on the roster, the players would show Litwak her glitching out during gameplay and get the game unplugged, taking her with it, **killing** her.." He shook his head somberly. _I don't think I could have done anything different under those circumstances.._

Vanellope took the time he explained that to take a few fast bites. _I don't want this getting cold. Ralph is already done eating.. Someone get this man another plate._

"When I got home, Gene was the only one left in the game," Ralph said solemnly, "Everyone else was out in Game Central Station. This was back before we had two power trips separating the games into two groups.. He remarked upon me actually getting a medal and told me that it was my fault our game was getting unplugged in the morning because I was in Hero's Duty during the arcade's open hours. I explained to him that I was just tired of living alone in the garbage, so he threw me his key to the penthouse and said that I could live alone in the penthouse.. Which he was basically telling me to die with the game.." he shook his head sadly and sighed. _I **should** have known better in the first place, but that was going a bit too far.._

"Your game didn't get unplugged though, right?" Penelope asked worriedly. _I think Vanellope said something about him being in his game when the power strips made all of the games get temporarily unplugged._

"No, thankfully," Ralph said softly, "But before that.. I went out on the balcony to look at the 'Out of Order' sign on the screen and threw the medal at it, which somehow knocked the sign down a bit. I'm not sure **how** that worked, since me doing that affected the outside world, but it revealed Vanellope on the side of Sugar Rush's console, so I knew **something** was wrong. I rushed back and found out from Sour Bill that Vanellope was in the Fungeon and that all she had to do was race and the game would be reset, making her a real racer again. Felix was in the Fungeon too because he was looking for me and got caught." He chuckled. "Felix fixed Vanellope's kart, and I busted her out so that she could race."

Felix nodded. _This story needs more Tammy, truth be told._

"And then I raced!" Vanellope said excitedly, "It was the first time I really got to race in **15 years**, and I was going to come in first without anything bad happening if not for Turbo attacking me during the race when it was narrowed down to me and him.. I almost thought it was over, but then I glitched away from him, using my glitchiness as a teleporting superpower and continued racing.. I'd have won right there if not for the Cy-bugs popping out of the ground and in general eating up everything, even the **finish line**." _Hard to cross a finish line in those circumstances. Especially since my kart got knocked off the track._

"That's when Tammy and I helped get the citizens to safety," Felix said proudly. _We did have a part in this too. I want you to know we weren't slacking off._

"Turbo must have been eaten by a Cy-bug himself," Ralph said, "Because he was part Cy-bug when I borrowed Calhoun's cruiser to get to the top of Diet Cola Mountain so I could use it as a beacon to destroy the Cy-bugs."

"What are Cy-bugs again?" Penelope asked confusedly while wrinkling her nose, "They don't seem very pleasant to be honest." _Apparently they eat people and hybridize with them._

"Understatement," Calhoun scoffed, "They become what they eat, people included. It's a deadly combination, especially outside of their game. Luckily we didn't have to worry about them regenerating there."

"Anyway, he kept trying to stop me from using Diet Cola Mountain as a beacon, which the Cy-bugs cant' help but fly into to their deaths," Ralph said, "Eventually he grabbed me and flew up into the sky, trying to force me to watch as the other Cy-bugs cornered Vanellope at the exit she couldn't go out through.. I broke free, refusing to let that happen and did a free fall into the mentos so that it would fall into the diet cola, creating the beacon." _It was the only thing I could do.._

"That's when I glitched past all of Cy-bug things and grabbed Crumbelina's kart to go save Ralph just in the nick of time," Vanellope said excitedly, "He'd have died otherwise.." She frowned. "I don't even want to **think** about what it would be like without Ralph around.."

"You saved me, kid," Ralph said warmly, "That's what matters." _I was prepared to die, but it goes without saying I'm glad I didn't.._

Vanellope chuckled and said, "So then all the Cy-bugs, including Turbug, flew into the beacon of broiling hot diet cola. Dying painfully, probably. But definitely dying." _Serves him right, too. Too bad for King Candy having to experience it too though.._

"Oh, I can **assure** you it was painful," King Candy(1) said earnestly, "**Extremely** painful. I may not have been in control of my body for those 15 years, but I still experienced it all."

"You're okay now though, right?" Penelope asked worriedly, "You **seem** fine, at least.." _Being controlled for 15 years when this Turbo guy did all that.. I'd be scarred for life.._

"Yeah, I'm fine," King Candy(1) said earnestly, "More than anything I was happy that I was finally free of Turbo's control. When I woke up, I was in complete control of myself again." He laughed. "I was simply ecstatic, because Vanellope was a real racer again and she could have the life she was always meant to have." _Minus me, of course.._

"After that, Felix fixed the finish line for me using his magic hammer," Vanellope said warmly, "And Ralph pushed me across the finish line, which made the game reset because it tried loading me into the roster but found that my connections were severed. **That's** when the other racers were reset too, as well as their memories getting unlocked." She sighed happily. "And **that's** why Ralph is my dad now and simply can **not** be replaced.." She winced. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that last part.." _Way to ruin a good feel, Vanellope._

Vincent frowned. _It **sounds** innocent enough. Heartwarming even.. But that was **before** Ralph started dating Vanellope._

Penelope nodded. _Can it, Vincent. You'd better be working those gears overtime to realize how good of a person Ralph is. You're taking it too personally._

Vincent breathed deeply through his nose. _Are you sure you aren't just taking it too easily?_

"Er.. You want me to tell you how **I** met Ralph?" Vannie asked with a sheepish laugh. _It's not as long-winded as her story, probably.._

"Yes please," Penelope said with a smile. _I'm eager to know exactly what happened._

[[[[[ Recap of 'A Sudden Surge' starts here. Don't worry, it's the last time I recap these events. ]]]]]

Ralph chuckled. _Well this is going to be embarrassing. I have a feeling that Vincent won't be impressed with this either. At least Penelope is clearly on my side already._

"He knows what's coming," Vannie said with a laugh, "It's not that bad though, he had just lost his memory so he was acting a little wonky." _It was hilarious. I like that about him too._

"Understatement," Vanellope said with a laugh. _I like that word. Simple and to the point. Thanks for that one, Tammy._

"Yeah, yeah," Ralph said as he scratched his head in embarrassment. _At least they don't know I tried to eat their soap.. What an idiot I was. Like soap would be made out of sugar just because most of the game is.. I do hope they leave out the part where I smelled bad and tracked water all over the hallways._

Penelope rested her head upright on her arm. _I'm just wondering when you'll actually tell the story._

"Alright, so I guess I'll start from when I met Ralph?" Vannie asked, "Unless Ralph wants to say anything.." She smirked at him. _I'll give you your chance, Ralphie.. If there's something you want to say, say it. It's only fair._

"What would you like me to say?" Ralph asked with an embarrassed chuckle, "Well, the whole thing with me and Felix losing our memories was pretty much entirely **his** fault, for one. Litwak needed to replace the power strip all of our games were plugged into, I think you heard about that already. I'm not sure. Anyways, Litwak got two of them and split the games into two groups. Game Station West, and Game Station East is what we call them. Before that happened though, Felix stayed behind to pack his medals and I went collect him at the last minute because he was taking too long. It was almost time for Litwak to get here when I went to pick him up. How did you even manage to hold onto **30 years** worth of medals, Felix?" _It didn't actually seem like 30 entire years worth though. That would probably be impossible to hold onto. It'd be a pile as big as my bricks, if not **larger**._

"Well it wasn't **all** of the medals I had ever gotten," Felix said while rolling his eyes, trying to hide his embarrassment, "I'm not **that** silly. I only kept the ones with a score of over fifty thousand points on them." _It was still a **lot** of medals. All tucked under the bed, in the closet, in my dresser since I only needed the one outfit.. the nightstand, a few of the other apartment rooms that weren't used.._ Felix's face burned red with embarrassment. _Okay so I still went overboard._

Ralph chuckled and said, "Right, well it was still a **lot**. It took him literally **all night** to pack those away and bring them over to Sugar Rush where we were all going to stay for the move since our memories would be preserved there. This was 3 weeks ago today, by the way.. So I went get him, and finally managed to talk him into leaving the rest of his medals behind, but by then it was too late for us to leave and our game was unplugged with us still in it." He sighed and shook his head. _It was kind of my fault too for not forcing him to leave sooner. I **could** have done it. _"When our game was plugged back in, the only game we really spent time in regularly that we had access to was Hero's Duty. That's where Calhoun told us to go when she yelled at us from Sugar Rush's console. Her soldiers stayed behind in Hero's Duty to make sure no Cy-bugs got loose when the game came back on. Once we went inside I immediately started getting a headache and had this odd sensation I had been there before. See, my old memory file that was in Hero's Duty started downloading itself into me or something, I'm not sure how exactly to explain that.."

"I was getting the same headaches," Felix said with a nod, "Only difference is, I was actually **trying** to remember whereas Ralph wasn't too concerned about it, not knowing what he was missing. I even started glitching into this weird yellow code after a while." _Even then I couldn't remember all that much. But I **did** get to fall in love with a certain soldier all over again. _He grinned, though only Calhoun knew why.

Calhoun smiled wryly. _You certainly did. You also nearly game overed while trying to remember, too. Back when you almost fell off my cruiser while we were tracking down Set.._

Felix sighed as Ralph started talking. _Yeah, that was my bad._

"I'm still telling my part, Felix, c'mon," Ralph scoffed playfully, "Anywho.. When I started getting a headache, I immediately made the connection to my going into Hero's Duty so I left and waited outside the gateway, which happened to be right next to Sugar Rush 2's gateway. That's where Vannie and I met.." He smiled warmly at Vannie and took a deep breath. _Unless Felix **really** needs to add something, she can take it from here._

"Did you want to add anything, Felix?" Vannie asked teasingly.

"N-no," Felix said sheepishly, "I just talked with the Hero's Duty guys until Leon found out the two other Turbo Time characters had hijacked characters there and started fixing the problem." _The soldiers just told me stories about me and Tammy.. Of course none of that compared to actually meeting her all over again. And then they taught me how to shoot again._

Calhoun smirked. _They also taught you how to shoot again, you know. Not like you ever use that skill._

Felix looked over to Calhoun and scratched his neck. _Yeah, that's true.._

"Turbo Time characters are quite a problem, aren't they?" Vincent asked dryly. _Three characters from the same game hijacking others.._

"Yeah, and it's worrisome that Litwak might be getting that game again soon," Ralph said with a sigh. _I'm going to talk to you whether you like it or not, Vincent._

"I told you, dear," Queen Lemma said with a chuckle, "If that comes to pass we can do something about it."

"She's right," Satoru said nervously, "We originally programmed them, after all." _I suppose we should start thinking about how we should go about it.._

Rio nodded. _This story is fascinating however. Think about it after._

"My story.." Vannie said with a frown. _It's not finished, you know?_

"I'm sorry, Vannie," Vincent said earnestly, "Please tell us.." _I **want** to understand this.._

"Thank you, Dad," Vannie said, "I was with Dad. Er, well, my adoptive Dad. I'm still going to call him Dad.. Anyways, we were checking out Game Station West after Litwak left and we had our Random Roster Race." _We had it right away to get it over with so we could explore the game and everything else._ "Nobody was around though, except the surge protector, Alex. So we decided to go back, but when we saw Ralph sitting at the gateway, we introduced ourselves and invited him on a tour of Sugar Rush 2 since he had nothing better to do either." _And I stepped on Dad's foot because he said __**he**__ was the rightful ruler, even though technically __**I**__ am.._ "After giving him a tour, we had dinner, and Vanellope showed up looking for Ralph. Just in time for dessert, too." _Don't worry, Ralph. I won't tell them you __smelled bad and __that__ Dad __practically __made you take a shower. That part was great though. You left a big trail of water all over the floor and made Salty Phil mad._

"That's when she accused me of being Turbo," King Candy said with a frown.

"At the time I was hiding out in Diet Cola Mountain," King Candy(1) said with a frown, "Everyone would have thought I was Turbo, so I stayed hidden and pretended to be a candy ghost haunting the place."

"Yeah," Vanellope said somberly, "I freaked out, because of all the stuff Turbo did to me and my game.." She smiled sadly when she thought about what happened next. "But Ralph.. Even though he didn't remember me, he helped me calm down and explained the situation." _It hurt so bad, Ralph not remembering me.. Every time I thought I had made friends with the racers in my game, they would forget me the next day and treat me like trash again.. The thought of that happening with Ralph.._ She long blinked as a tear streamed down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away.

"It was the sweetest thing ever.." Vannie said softly as she beamed at Ralph and then Vanellope, "The way Ralph took you into his arms and tried to make it all better even though he couldn't remember.." _Maybe it was then that I started to love him? I don't know.. If not, __it __wasn't long after __that. For sure it was before we left the castle__._

"I couldn't remember," Ralph said softly, as he stratched his head in embarrassment, "but I had the strangest sensation that she was the one person in the world that I had to protect at all costs." _I guess I had Hero's Duty to thank for that.._

Vanellope nodded and wiped away more tears, remembering how sweet Ralph was, and still is. "That's exactly the kind of person Ralph is," she said and sniffled, "When I told them what Turbo did to me, Ralph was ready to take action, even though he already had.." She took a deep breath. "I sort of made up with King Candy after that and then he went take a nap.. To calm down, I guess.."

King Candy nodded somberly. _I was already a little tired to begin with, but being rejected by Vanellope.. That just made it so much harder._

"That's when I brought them to Diet Cola Mountain in our game," Vannie said, "Since Vanellope used to live there, and Ralph taught her how to race there in her game."

"And that's when **I** asked **Ralph** if I was getting in their way," Vanellope said with a chuckle, "Since he was having dinner with her and King Candy it seemed like they might be going out already. It weirded him out that I was playing matchmaker for them, obviously. I found it weird too.. But if there's a girl.. an **adult** girl.." Vanellope she looked over at Vincent, "that's right for Ralph, it's **her**. I mean, come on.. Look at her." She smiled mischievously and shook her head slightly. _I may be a little conceited for having such a high opinion of the person I would grow up into if I actually grew up.._ "Of course Ralph is thick-headed sometimes and the thought didn't even cross his mind until I brought it up."

"I told you!" Felix said to Calhoun excitedly, "I told you." He chuckled. _Ralph's brain doesn't work that way, I said! I got it backwards how it happened, but I was right about Ralph!_

"Calm down," Calhoun said wryly, "You're interrupting." _You look like a crazy person right now._

"What have you been saying about me, Felix?" Ralph asked while cocking an eyebrow.

"Er.." Felix said sheepishly and swallowed hard, "I just said you probably had to be told that she liked you. Though technically you were told you would like her, I guess.. But I was still right about you not making the connection yourself."

"I would have eventually," Ralph grumbled, "I was busy trying to get my memory back, okay?" _Do we really have to talk about this in such detail?_

"Sure, sure," Calhoun said wryly while smirking at Vannie, "So you **did** fall in love with him already by that point, right?" _I should have asked about this __**weeks**__ ago._

"Oh, before we even left the castle," Vannie said with a chuckle, "It was just so hard to get him alone.." _Since Vanellope is always around once we go to Sugar Rush for her race.. Even when we go to bed. It was a good idea before, but we can't have any privacy like that.._

"Still is," Vanellope said sheepishly, "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," Vannie said warmly while wrinkling her nose as subtly as she could. _Sorry, you're right.._

Vanellope rolled her eyes and said, "No it isn't. I wasn't being fair.." _I've been giving you guys more space recently. I think I know how to make this situation better for all of us __though__.._

"So when it was clear I wasn't going to remember anything there," Ralph said after clearing his throat uncomfortably, "We decided to go to Vanellope's game, expecting that to make it easier. Which it did, except-"

"Except me and Vannie merged into the same body," Vanellope said frown, quickly interrupting Ralph, "**That** was weird.. Having her in my head in the brief moments **I** was in control, and me being in **her** head when **she** was in control.." _I'm pretty sure I'd be stuck on the inside permanently if we hadn't gotten split back up._

"The game couldn't figure us out," Vannie said with a frown, "It kept trying to figure out which one of us it should prioritize.." _I think I was winning. Not that it was a game.._

"And talk about **headaches**," Vanellope said, "I guess it's probably the same kind of headaches Ralph and Felix were having.." _We did glitch into yellow code too. Even though I normally would glitch into blue code until King Candy made it more fluid-looking._

"And that's also when I came into the picture," King Candy(1) said, "Zombie had found me when he visited Diet Cola Mountain and convinced me to come out of hiding, insisting that Vanellope would hear me out.." _I should have realized she would before.._

"Alright, Zombie," Ging said with an excited smile. _This guy just gets better and better, doesn't he? This whole story is pretty interesting. I hope I don't merge with myself when __**I**__ go to Sugar Rush 1 or 2.. I've got to see this son of mine.._

Zombie shrugged and said, "Zombie just here for moral support."

"Thanks Zombie," Ralph said wryly, "It's good to have you around."

Zombie chuckled.

"Right," Vanellope said with a slightly annoyed smile, "So anyways.. Vannie and I, in the same body, heard someone talking on the announcer stand so we went check it out. When I got there I found out it was King Candy here and he was about to be taken into the Fungeon because of who we all thought he was. We thought that the King Candy in our memories was all just a fabrication because of Turbo's meddling. But that got cleared up when I used my glitch power on him and he came out clean."

"Then we had this really **massive** headache and they brought us to the castle to try and fix us," Vannie said, "Ralph was maybe a **little** over-protective, but he got the job done, breaking open the door to the code room for us once we got there. King Candy didn't have the code for it so there was no other choice."

"And then I fixed it," King Candy(1) said with a laugh, "Or at least I found a work around, thanks to that annoying Lump coding assistant."

"And I fixed the door later," Felix said proudly. _It was the first and only thing so far that had ever taken more than one hit to fix._

"Lump?" Satoru said with a laugh, "**Lump** was in the code room? That's crazy." _He was a parody idea I had for Clippy._

"He was **annoying**!" King Candy(1) said while rolling his eyes, "And he had a hard time understanding the simplest of commands."

Rio laughed. _Yes, yes.._

"So anyways," Ralph said with a sigh, "I merged my old memory file into my new memory file while King Candy split the girls back into two bodies.. and here we are. While my memory was merging I had this weird dream where Zombie helped me make sense of the whole two Vanellopes thing. With his help I finally realized that it didn't matter that they were both Vanellope von Schweetz. They're two **different** people.. Of course I really should have realized it sooner. I mean they're **clearly** not the same person. They just have similar appearances and backstories.. And their name is the same, of course." _I'm sort of lecturing you here, Vincent. Please wise up about them not being the same exact person._

"Zombie helped?" Zombie asked with a chuckle, "It sound like something Zombie do."

Ging nudged Zombie's arm playfully. _This guy right here!_

"By that time Tammy and I had caught Set, one of the Turbo Twins," Felix said, "He killed himself rather than be taken in though. And later she merged my two memory files in Hero's Duty's code room."_I'll never forget seeing that __though__.. Someone actually taking their own life.._

"What about the other Turbo Twin?" Penelope asked. _What happened to __**him**__?_

"Two of my soldiers, Markowski and Spears, and their girlfriends Minty and Jubileena, helped Wynchel and Duncan catch Jet," Calhoun said, "They brought him to the Fungeon so King Candy could make a decision." _I agreed to it only because Felix wanted me too, but I'm glad I did in the end.._

"Oh, we met them!" Penelope said with a smile, "They were here with our Ralph and Felix."

"There was a Jet with them too," Vincent said confusedly, "Although he wasn't gray like you described Turbo to be." _I'm guessing they were all gray, but maybe that's not the case?_

"Don't panic," King Candy said firmly, "but I made him a racer in Sugar Rush 2. I made **absolutely** sure that he's safe to have around. And he's been a **very** good influence around the arcade since then. He's not gray because I gave him a new skin to fit in better." _Seems like they're not panicking. Good._

"Jet?" Rio asked, "Well Set **was** the older twin, so **he'd** have come up with all the ideas." _He must have been ruthless too, because that's how I thought he would be. Just the way that grin of his looked.._

"Set was just plain **nuts**," Ralph said, "Prankster wasn't an adequate title for him. He practically dragged Jet along, hijacking 7 different games and eventually made 4 of them get unplugged when he got bored of them."

"But Jet is a **good** guy," Vannie said firmly, "I don't think it's possible for him to regret what he helped Set do more than he already does." _He didn't even know everything Set was doing, since he did it behind his back.._

[[[[[ End of recaps. ]]]]]

Penelope heaved a heavy sigh and said, "Well that's a **lot** to take in." She chuckled. "What do you think about all this, Vincent?" _Your head has been a little quiet on the receiving end.._

"I still have my doubts about Ralph," Vincent said, with the intention of continuing with an explanation.

"Da~d!" Vannie said with a sigh. _Not this again.._

"Come on!" Vanellope said, "Really?" _I thought for sure after we said all that.._

"C'mon, girls," Vincent said pleadingly, "Cut me some slack, I'm your father.." _Whether the little one accepts it or not.._

"I hope I'm not chopped liver to you," Vanellope(AR) said teasingly. _Calm down, Dad. I know I'm not._

"Baby.." Vincent said with a sigh, "Alright, look.. I'm just saying that it's **weird**. I can't see it as anything **other** than weird right now." _That has got to be the most awkward thing on the planet to be caught up in._

"You said 'right now'," Vannie said, "So does that mean you're going to at least **try** to stop seeing it as something so weird? I **know** that you'll like Ralph if you at least give him a chance.."

"I'll can't make that kind of promise," Vincent said apprehensively, "It's pretty weird.."

Penelope sighed, shook her head, and said, "You're impossible, honey."

Vanellope sighed and said, "Anyways, it's getting a little bit late, isn't it? I'm tired.." _It's fun here, but I'd like to go get some sleep. I'm sure the arcade will be super busy tomorrow._

"Yeah, I think it's about time we get you to bed," Ralph said warmly while poking her nose lightly.

"Thanks for the meal," Felix said cheerfully as he stacked his plates in front of him neatly and stood up. _I didn't even realize it was so late.._

"Here," Vanellope said as she glitched on side of Vincent and raised her arms, "I'll give you a hug."

"Even after all I said?" Vincent asked as he bent down to her level.

"Well I know you're not a bad person," Vanellope said while rolling her eyes, "You just need to get your head on straight, that's all."

Vincent scoffed and picked her up into his arms, hugging her tightly. "Thanks, Vannie.." _I guess I'll just have to accept being 'number 2'.._

"It'll get confusing if you call me that," Vanellope said with a laugh, "Vannie is Vannie over there. Just call me Vanellope." _Just go with it._

"Aww," Vanellope(AR) said, "But I'm Vanellope too. What about me?"

"Well **I** was here first," Vanellope said teasingly, "You can either **still** be referred to as Vanellope, or find another nickname."

"Hmm.." Vanellope(AR) said in thought, "Well it's not like we call each other by name all **that** much. I'll just stick with Vanellope." _It's not really all that confusing, is it?_

"Sounds good," Vanellope said with a laugh, "Alright, I'll see you guys tomorrow most likely."

"I'd like to stay and finish things up here," Calhoun said to Satoru, "I'm almost done." _It's a lot easier since I'm working off of my own character data._

"That's fine," Satoru said, "Will you be taking her with you, or would you like me to make a place for her here?"

"Well I imagine it would be best if she stays here," Calhoun said dryly, "With Brad.." _It'll keep him out of my hair._

"Ralph.." Vincent said with an apprehensive sigh, "I just want you to know.. I **don't** hate you.." _Your relationships with my daughters may be weird, but I don't hate you for it.._

"Thank you," Ralph said gratefully, "That's among the things I least want.."

"Later, Vince," Vanellope said teasingly as she kissed him on the cheek and glitched onto Ralph's shoulder.

"That's some superpower you've got, Vanellope," Penelope said with a smirk. _You're going to end up making 'yourself' jealous.._

"Yeah, I got used to glitching, so I kept it," Vanellope said sheepishly, "It comes in handy."

Ralph, Vannie, Vanellope, Candice, the King Candys, Zombie, and Ging all said their goodbyes and went to their respective homes.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Has it **really** been 99 chapters already? I know that this chapter is mostly just a recap of the movie's events, and later a recap of my first story, 'A Sudden Surge', but I wanted to make sure that we're going into chapter** 100** and beyond with a fresh memory of those events. I won't be recapping again, mind you. This was the last time :p.

Sorry about the others not being in this chapter. This just went on **really** long, haha. They don't have all that much going on right now anyways. If their day feels short, just keep in mind that they've been going all over the place and they were talking a **lot**, including some talking offscreen that didn't really add anything since it was just there to fill in otherwise unused time to make things match up.

Chapter 100 won't be as long as this, but I'm sure you'll like it regardless.

I just want you guys to know (even you lurkers ;)), that I really appreciate you guys for sticking with me like this.

I know I haven't exactly been fair to Ralph and Vannie all the way up to chapter 78 (after the first day of course, I think that went well), but it just sort of happened, haha. But it'll be different now, I **promise**!

Just keep in mind that the romance in this story tends to occur at the end of the day and possibly at the start of the next day, with other stuff happening during the rest of the day.


	100. Day 21's End - You've Been Kept Waiting

_"Well this is sort of nostalgic," Ralph(AR) said with an embarrassed chuckle as he walked over to the large pile of bricks and tree stump, "I used to live in this."__ Just about a year ago.. What's with this sudden headache though? I'll have to ask Satoru what's up with that later.._

"Don't remind me," Felix(AR) said with a sigh. _At least Gene let you stay in the apartments after a while. And then you two eventually became friends somehow.. I wonder what's causing this headache.._

"Shall we go introduce ourselves?" Garret asked as he looked over to the large Niceland building, "The lights are on." _Sounds like music is playing too._

"I don't see why not," Ralph(AR) said, "Technically we know each other already." He chuckled and lightly stroked his temple. _Of course if they're having a party, they might not be so happy we're interrupting. I may be me, but I'm not the me they know._

They walked up to the Niceland building and went inside, taking the elevator up to the penthouse where everyone seemed to be congregating. Felix(AR) knocked on the door cheerfully, ignoring the dull pain in his head. _I don't need anyone worrying about me. We're all having a good time._

"Oh, why that must be Felix," Gene could barely be heard cheerfully guessing from inside the room. He hummed and hopped up to the door, opening it casually to greet his guests. "Felix?" He looked up at him with a bemused expression. _He's tall.. Not only that, but he also looks somewhat different.. _He blinked a few times and then his gaze fell upon Ralph(AR) who was standing not far behind him. "Ralph?" _Well at least he's the right height, but his arms and gut.. Is this _**really**_ Felix and Ralph?_

"Hi Gene," Ralph(AR) said casually. _The look on your face is priceless._

Felix(AR) chuckled and said, "It's okay, Gene. You see, we're actually from Adrenaline Rush."

"Yeah," Minty said with a laugh, "They're not the ones you're used to seeing.. Oh, I should probably introduce myself first.. Hi, I'm Minty." She smiled warmly and waved. "This is Jubileena, Leon, Garret, Jet, and Crumbelina."

"I see," Gene said, his countenance full of intrigue, "Well **please**, come on in." He opened the door and gladly ushered them inside. "So tell me.. What's Adrenaline Rush like? Are we there too?" _It's a long shot, but it's possible._

"Oh, you're there alright, Big Gene," Ralph(AR) said with a chuckle, "Of course you're all a bit taller.." _Still a bit pudgy though._

"Fascinating.." Gene said as the olive in his martini bounced slightly.

"As for what it's like," Felix(AR) said with a chuckle, "Well, it's a sort of magical world, you could say.. Delicious food grows in the strangest of ways, wild beasts roam the lands without a care.. Words really can't do it justice."

"To give you some idea.." Jet said with a smile, "We just came from a place that has trees that grow flavored potato chip leaves." _Maybe we should have kept some.. I suppose we would need to use our own bags. I don't feel right mooching off of Ralph and Felix so much._

"It certainly sounds intriguing," Gene said as the other Nicelanders listened tentatively, "Is it perhaps dangerous, Felix? You mention wild beasts.."

"Well.. Sort of," Felix(AR) said while rubbing the side of his head, "But it should be sorted by tomorrow."

"Perhaps we should go visit in a few days," Mary said warmly, "Just to be sure." She giggled. "It's nice to know that we haven't been forgotten even after all these years."

"30 and a half years," Don said excitedly, "We must have made one heck of an impression.." _Although it's a bit delayed._

"So I see you guys are having a party," Ralph(AR) said while looking around the room, "Anything special going on?" _Well, probably not._

"Oh just the usual," Gene said, "Who needs a reason to throw a good party?"

"Waka waka waka.." Pac-Man said as he ate all of the food that was set out on a nearby counter.

"Mary?" Gene asked. _You know the drill._

"I'm on it," Mary said with a giggle as she hopped off to the kitchen to bring out more food.

Jet snickered. _Hey Crumbelina.. Just imagine the devastation he could cause in Adrenaline Rush.._

_There'd be nothing left. _Crumbelina chuckled and said, "I can tell you guys have a lot of experience throwing parties." _You must be used to that guy by now._

"30 and a half years," Don said excitedly.

"Right," Ralph(AR) said with a chuckle, "Well in case you're wondering, Felix and I are only a year older than we were in this game. Same goes for you guys, of course."

"Excellent," Gene said with a laugh, "I'd hate to see myself old and grey!" _I wasn't sure how old they were, they look so _**different**_._

They all talked for a good while longer and decided to return home rather than go to Sugar Rush since both Felix(AR) and Ralph(AR) said they were feeling weak. Or tired, rather.

* * *

"This taffy is actually quite good," Taffy said as she licked the finger she stuck in a pond of warm, green apple taffy, "I can do a lot better though." _A _**lot**_ better._

Taffyta chuckled happily, "Minty would be jumping for joy right about now if she were here. She always loved coming over, especially when you made your special taffy.. You never did reveal what the secret to making it was.." _I always wanted to know that.. You would always shoo us out of the kitchen.._

"Well of course not," Taffy said teasingly, "If I did, it wouldn't be a **secret**, now would it?" _I wonder if I got even better at it in her time?_

"I don't suppose you could make us all some sometime?" little Taffyta asked sweetly, enjoying the luxury of being held in her father's arms. _I haven't had it in 15 years, after all.. Caramella at least _**tried**_ to make some herself, but it wasn't anywhere near as good._

The Rancis duo chuckled with their arms crossed.

"Uh-oh," Shanks said with a laugh, "**Someone's** laughin'."

"You know you like when she makes taffy," Taffyta hissed playfully, "Don't even pretend." _If she makes some I'll have to save some for everybody.._

"I just think it's cute," the Rancis duo said teasingly, their voices harmonizing perfectly.

"Yeah, yeah," the Taffyta duo said dismissively, their voices also harmonizing perfectly.

"Some things never change," Taffy said teasingly. _That was too perfect._ "I'll see what I can do."

"Yer pretty slick with a kart though, Rancis," Shanks said with a smile, "I reckon you'd do real good with a monster truck. You might wanna save up fer one. Makes it a **lot** easier to get around in Adrenaline Rush."

"It wouldn't be that expensive, would it?" Rancis asked curiously, "I don't know how long it would take to save up for one of those monsters." _I wonder what I should call it? I know his is called 'The Hunter'.._

"Not if you put in the effort," Shanks said with a chuckle, "I'll show you a few good places tomorrow if you'd like.. Get you a nice set of supplies and everything. You too, darlin'." _I'll make you pros in no time._

"I'd like that," Taffyta beamed. _The more time I get to spend with you guys, the better._

"We can come too, right?" little Taffyta asked, almost looking as though she was ready to pout if necessary.

"Well of course," Shanks said with a smile, "Satoru should be done safety-fyin' the place by then. It's not like him and Rio got anything **else** they're programmed for." _Just each other and programmin'.._

"So now that we've been to a few places here," Taffy said with a smile, "I think it's time you showed us where you live."

Taffyta rolled her eyes in playful annoyance. "Alright, Mom," she said while crossing her arms, "I'll show you.." _You're going to pick on me a little when you find out, I just know it._

The six got into Taffyta and Rancis' karts once more and headed to the town of Schweetz, pointing out a few of the other areas along the way as well as explaining a few of the other more interesting areas such as Diet Cola Mountain and Sugar Beach, the latter of which having an unfinished bonus track not far from it.

Before long they pulled up to Taffyta and Rancis' house and went inside.

"I see.." Taffy said teasingly, "So **that's** why you didn't seem to want us coming here." _I figured it was something like that._

"What?" Taffyta asked with an embarrassed laugh, "There is **nothing** wrong with us living together.."

Shanks cocked his eyebrow at Rancis, nudging him in the arm lightly. _I ain't sayin' nothin'._

Rancis smiled sheepishly. _Well I'm sure he knows there's nothing to worry about._

"I didn't say there was, sweetie," Taffy said teasingly while giving her a playful hug. _Our girl is all grown up.. Well _**obviously**_.._ She chuckled.

"Nice pictures," little Rancis said with a smirk as he looked around the living room that had a large number of them. _I'm in most of them, naturally._

"You know I like taking pictures," Taffyta said with a chuckle. _Oh! I completely forgot about that! I'll wait a little while though. I'm glad I've got a camera already on me ready to go.._

"Oh.. This is me, right?" Taffy said as she inspected a picture that was hanging on the wall nearby. From Taffyta's perspective it was taken just three years prior. It was a picture of her and her mother enjoying a trip to Sugar Beach with Rancis, Minty and Crumbelina.

"Yep, that's you," Taffyta said warmly, "You aged well, as you can see." _Although you did still age, obviously. You're like 42 in that picture._

"You're saying I got old," Taffy said teasingly, "But you're right, I look good." _Not that _**I **_have to worry about getting old._

"Lucky fer me," Shanks said teasingly, "Not that we gotta worry about that in the first place."

"You guys up for a picture?" little Taffyta asked sweetly as she held up her camera, "I can't go without having at **least** one picture of us together like this.." _And I'm going to make sure it comes out just right __too.._

"I was thinking the same thing," Taffyta said sweetly as she pulled out her camera and laughed. _She's just like a little sister._

* * *

Vannie sighed contentedly as she, Ralph, Vanellope, Candice, and King Candy entered the castle, walking into the throne room. "They have some really good food," she said with a laugh, "I never would have expected there to be food that tasted that good. I thought **ours** was top notch.." _Five stars is not enough. They need to add stars onto that rating.._

"You're not kidding," Vanellope said with a laugh. _Wait until King Candy goes away, Vanellope.. He's going to bed soon, you know that.._

King Candy chuckled and said, "Are you **really** sure you don't want to go to Sugar Rush 1 with your father, Candice?" _He was disappointed, you know?_

"I plan to alternate," Candice said sheepishly, "It's okay if I consider you my dad too, right?" _Besides, I have a room in _**this**_ castle._

"That would make me happy," King Candy said with an embarrassed laugh, "I suppose we'll have to get you a room set up in Sugar Rush as well. We hadn't even thought of that to be honest.." _Since she was going to wake up here, she needed a room here. We should have realized sooner.._

"Oh and Dad," Vannie said with a chuckle, "Don't you think it's about time you made the restaurant and ice cream shop?" _The Food Fight chefs and Charley must be tired of waiting by now._

King Candy winced and said, "Oh, you're right.. I'll get on that first thing after the Random Roster Race.. Tell Jet for me, would you?" _He can spread the word for me._

"Sure thing," Vannie said with a smile. _Candice was the number one priority. I do feel bad for the chefs though. Charley doesn't seem to mind so much since he's been busy with the racers in Vanellope's game._

King Candy yawned and said, "Well I'm heading off to bed. I can't believe how exhausting today was. Somehow I expect tomorrow will be as well." He laughed. "Especially with Adrenaline Rush around." _I had completely lost track of time._

"I'm just glad Vincent doesn't hate me," Ralph said with an embarrassed chuckle. _I'd love to get along with the parents of my girlfriend.. Well, and daughter.._

"He'll get over it, Ralph," Vannie said warmly as she gave him a hug and sighed, "He just needs a little time to accept it. Even **you** needed a little nudging." _Just not nearly as much._

"Goodnight, King Candy," Vanellope said with a smile. _Go to bed already, dude._

"Goodnight, Vanellope," King Candy said with a chuckle as he went to his room for the night. _It was wonderful seeing Vincent and Penelope alive and well. They're just how I remembered them. At least their personalities.. I imagine they must have an alternate appearance they switch to during the cutscene Satoru spoke of.._

Vanellope smirked. _That was easy._

"Alright, what's with the face?" Ralph asked plainly, "You're up to no good.." _You always get that face when you're plotting something._

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ralph.." Vanellope said with an innocent smile, "Hey Candice, would you mind if I slept with you in your room tonight?" _I _**would**_ like to spend more time with you, so __it's a win/win._

"I don't mind at all, you know that," Candice said with a chuckle. _I think I see where she's going with this. She did say that she was being unfair in respect to their privacy._

"Alright! Let's go," Vanellope said with an innocent smile as she raised her arms for Candice to pick her up. _There you go, you two get your privacy._

"Oh.." Ralph said with a few subtle nods of understanding as Candice walked to her room with Vanellope in her arms. _You little imp.._

Vannie chuckled nervously as they stood alone in the throne room at the foot of the stairs leading to their rooms. _Well, I _**do**_ want privacy._ "Well come on, Ralph," she said as she hugged his arm, "We'd better go get some sleep too." _You're tensing up, I wonder what you're thinking about._

"Of course you realize.." Ralph said nervously. _We're going to be alone in there. Shouldn't you go to your own room tonight?_

"Well yeah, I'm not dumb," Vannie said wryly, "Come on, you're a big boy." She pulled him lightly by the arm as he reluctantly followed her into his room. _No escape._

Ralph breathed deeply through his nose, his heart and mind racing with expectations he knew he shouldn't have. _This is dangerous.._

Once inside, Vannie softly closed and locked the door. The slight click of the lock may as well have been thunder to Ralph's ears.

"Was it really necessary to lock the door?" Ralph asked nervously. _We're just going to sleep.._ He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

Vannie smiled warmly and raised one of his giant hands to her face then kissed its middle knuckle. "I don't want anyone to disturb us, Ralph," she said sweetly, "We finally have time to ourselves. I don't want that to be interrupted by anything." _Or anyone._

Ralph let out the breath he was holding, smiled and said, "I suppose I can understand that." _I guess a _**little**_ couldn't hurt.._ He took a step closer to her and hugged her with one arm, resting his head on her shoulder. "I'm glad you were able to meet your parents.." _It makes the tragedy of their deaths a bit easier on you, I'm sure.._

Vannie giggled as she wrapped her arms around Ralph's middle and said, "Me too.. Dad may be reluctant to accept the idea, but he and Mom are wonderful people, just as I knew they were." _And I have another Vanellope to get along with._

"Of course they are," Ralph scoffed playfully, "They're **your** parents, after all." _They have you for a daughter, of course they would be wonderful people._

"You're such a sweetheart, Ralph," Vannie beamed, "Now, I'd like to get some sleep for tomorrow, but first things first. We've got to make use of this rare moment of privacy." She gently moved his head from her shoulder and kissed his lips tenderly. _Let's restart from yesterday's checkpoint._

"Don't you think this is a little dangerous?" Ralph asked hesitantly as he found himself unable to resist giving her a few soft pecks in return. _It was hard last time.._

"Oh, please," Vannie said dismissively, "You're such a worry wart." She smiled and softly kissed his hesitant, yet welcoming lips, slowly deepening it into a passionate kiss as she slid one of her arms into his open orange hoodie. "I'm glad you made it a tank top." She chuckled as she returned to the kiss she had reluctantly paused to speak. _I want to see the whole thing._

"It feels nice not wearing sleeves for a change," Ralph said with a nervous laugh as he softly caressed the small of her back, "Of course I can't exactly say that, with this hoodie, I suppose.." _Poor choice of words.._

"Then take the hoodie off, Ralph," Vannie said softly, with a thin veneer of eagerness in her voice, "You don't plan to sleep with it **on**, do you?" _I guess I tend to do that when I'm too lazy to change.._

"You sleep in **yours**," Ralph said as he kissed her neck, "How bad can it be?" _This isn't helping me steer away from the danger.._

"I'll take mine off tonight then," Vannie said as she stroked the base of his jaw lovingly, "I want to see you without yours on.." _And then some.._

Ralph chuckled nervously and said, "See, I knew this is dangerous.." _And you're thoroughly enjoying it._

"So what's wrong with a little danger?" Vannie asked gently, "I've got it under control." She winked. _You're too tense, Ralph. Let me calm you down.._

"You say that," Ralph said with a reluctant scoff. _I have to stop this. She shows no signs of doing so herself.._

"You don't believe me.." Vannie said mischievously, "Come on, Ralph. It's just a hoodie, isn't it? What are you so worried about?" _You're just pushing my buttons.._

"Are you sure you'll like what you see?" Ralph asked apprehensively. _I may be _**mostly**_ muscle, but.. No, that's not even the issue here.._

"I'm positive," Vannie said warmly, "Do you think I didn't know what I was getting into?" _Stop worrying so much._ "Just do it." She shot him an annoyed smirk.

Ralph chuckled nervously and said, "I suppose you did.. Y-you first.." _I can't let myself keep enjoying this. At this rate.._ He kissed her hand lovingly as she slowly backed away and carefully pulled off her teal hoodie, revealing the teal tank top she wore underneath. _This really _**is**_ getting dangerous. We should stop now while we're ahead.._

"Now.. It's **your** turn," Vannie said teasingly, "Show me those muscles." _And everything else._

Ralph sighed in embarrassment, though he was fully enjoying the moment, whether he would admit it to himself or not. He slowly slid off his orange hoodie with some difficulty, making sure not to tear it in the process. The cool air of the room hit his arms, giving him goosebumps. _Are you happy now?_ He scratched the side of his neck and crossed his arms.

"Doesn't that feel better?" Vannie asked happily as she approached him again to feel his smooth, yet tense shoulders with her hands. _Finally some new territory to explore._

"W-we should stop," Ralph said with a nervous laugh. _This is going too far too fast.._

"Oh no you don't," Vannie said firmly with a mischievous smile. _You know it's coming.._

"Y-you even said so yesterday we should stop before it gets to this point," Ralph said nervously as he backed away, cornering himself against the closed door. _I gotta get out of here before it's too late.._

"**That** was because we had a race to watch," Vannie said softly as she closed in on her prey, "I've been patiently waiting for a chance like this for about a week now." She hugged him tightly, resting her head on his powerful chest and took a deep breath. "It will be okay, Ralph. Trust me.." _I know you're nervous. You think I'm _**not**_? I want to do this with you.._

Ralph had nothing to say to that, he simply let out a few nervous, amused gasps of air. _We can't do this yet.._

"Are you going to make me beg, Ralph?" Vannie asked sincerely, gazing into his tired, fearful eyes, "You have nothing to be afraid of, remember?" _Your code says so, remember?_

"Maybe not my **strength**.." Ralph said apprehensively. _It's my size that I'm worried about.._

"And just what do you mean by **that**?" Vannie asked teasingly as she gently wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled his head down, planting a few gentle kisses on his lips. _I can just about guess.._

Ralph winced and apprehensively said, "C'mon, you know what they say about a guy with big hands.. Gloves don't fit.." _That was painful to say.._

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Vannie asked softly, "You'll never know if a glove will fit or not if you never try it on.." _I can talk around the topic too if that makes you feel better about it.._

"N-no.." Ralph said as his heart nearly leapt out of his throat. He swallowed hard as if he were putting it back into place. "Someone will hear us anyway." _Do you really think they won't know what's going on?_

Vannie smiled mischievously and said, "Crumbelina told me something interesting the other day." She ran her arms along Ralph's powerful chest and down to his sides. "Do you know what she said?" _You'll never guess, but I'll ask you anyway. It's more fun this way._

"Huh?" Ralph asked, "W-what's that got to do with anything?" _Why am I letting her corner me like this? I can just move her out of the way.. But what's she talking about?_

Vannie chuckled and said, "Jet had Dad do them a little favor.." She ran her fingers through Ralph's hair. "The walls are soundproof now. Didn't you notice things got quieter a few days ago?" _How many more excuses do I have to wreck?_

"I.." Ralph said before sighing defeatedly, "I just.." _I'm running out of excuses.._

"Ralph.." Vannie said softly, "Please?" _I'm asking nicely.. I know you _**have**_ to want this as much as I do.._

"I-I don't want us to regret doing something like this later.." Ralph said nervously as he rubbed his thumb along her cheek. _I don't know how, but.._

"How would we regret it," Vannie asked curiously, "I **can't** get pregnant, you know? Not like that would have been the end of the world, mind you. I know it **has** to be eating you up inside too. Waiting, I mean.." _So what's really the problem here?_

"That's what worries me most," Ralph said apprehensively. _I'm not so sure I can hold back.._

"You have nothing to worry about," Vannie said reassuringly, "**Whatever** happens." _I'm all yours.._

Ralph sighed and slowly hugged her, resting his head on her shoulder. "If you're **really** sure about this.." _I would be _**lying**_ if I said I didn't want this. I wanted it for weeks, keeping it to myself.._

"I **am**," Vannie said warmly as she hugged him back tightly, "Come on.." _You won't regret this, I promise.._ She smiled and gently pulled him over to the bed, where they finally made love for the first time..

Afterward, Ralph slumped down beside Vannie using the last of his strength, for the moment at least. He happily wrapped a large arm around her. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit sore. He chuckled to himself in amusement._ Sorry about that._

"That's not funny, Ralph," Vannie said with a laugh, "I guess some gloves are just made 'stretch-to-fit' though.. I suspect you have no complaints about doing this from now on?" _Sorry wouldn't cut it.. I'm not sure why I imagined him saying sorry.._

"That all depends on various circumstances," Ralph said with an embarrassed smile. _I must be hearing things._

"I think we've entered a new era," Vannie said with a chuckle, "I think Vanellope might be getting her own room soon.. But knowing **her** she'll probably hide it from Dad for a while, knowing how he reacted before." _She could stay in my room.._

"Well in **that** case," Ralph said lovingly as he pulled her closer to him, "I think I'd have to say 'yes'." _I suppose I didn't have to worry so much. _The honeyglow surged within his cheeks fiercely at the thought of what they had just done after so much waiting.

Vannie's face flushed with honeyglow as well as she said, "Good.. I'd ask if you wanted to go again, but I think we should really get some sleep." _I don't know if I could take another round so soon anyways._

With that, the two went to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Did you think I was **lying** when I said I was going to be fair to Ralph and Vannie from now on? I wrote an M-rated chapter for their first time as well. Look for chapter 2 of 'Honeyglows With Lemon', if you're interested in reading it :p.

Happy chapter 100 everyone ;). I couldn't have made it this far without the constant support of a certain few readers. You know who you are!


	101. Day 21's End - More Than Simply Tired

**Author's Note:** I hope you didn't miss chapter 100 :p. It's more than just fairly important for Ralph and Vannie's relationship.

* * *

"I wonder what was wrong with Ralph and Felix.." Jet said as he and Crumbelina walked into their home, "They seemed fine and then just all of a sudden.." _I highly doubt it's just because they were outside of Adrenaline Rush, __although a new setting is a lot to take in all at once. Not that Fix-It Felix Jr.'s setting would be all that unfamiliar __since that's where their originals are from.__._

"I don't know.." Crumbelina said worriedly, "I hope it isn't anything to worry about."

Jet sighed. _I can't help but get this bad feeling.. But Ralph said he'd talk to Satoru, their developer guy, so maybe it really is nothing to be worried about.._

"Oh, hey guys," Charley said with a smile as he walked into the living from from his room. He gave Jet a brief hug. "So how was Adrenaline Rush?" _You did go there, right?_

"It's awesome," Jet said excitedly as he ruffled Charley's hair slightly, "We'll bring you there soon when it's safer." _Well he is pretty fleet footed. He could probably handle it already. But better safe than sorry._

"It's dangerous, huh?" Charley asked as he gave Crumbelina a longer hug. _Well I could probably get away from whatever is so dange__ro__us anyway._

"So how was your day?" Crumbelina asked. _You look like you had fun._

"Pretty good," Charley said with a laugh, "Adorabeezle and I and a bunch of other racers just raced around some. They **really** like racing. Nougetsia and Torvald were really good today especially." _I'm glad I finally have friends my age. It only took a couple of decades._

"She still holding a grudge?" Jet asked. _You know who I'm talking about._

"Adorabeezle?" Charley asked, "I don't think so.. If she is, she's good at hiding it from me."

"Good," Crumbelina said with a smile, "So what was little me up to?" _She __**still**__ disapproves of Jet. __Well, a__t least outwardly. __It's hard to figure her out, oddly enough._

Jet scratched his head. '_At least outwardly' what? I didn't catch something._

Crumbelina glanced over to Jet. _I'm just **thinking**._ She smirked. _You'll **know** when I'm talking to you._

"Her, Minty, and Jubileena went off somewhere with Ash and Gary," Charley said, "Ash and Gary were looking for King Candy earlier, but I think they had already gone to Adrenaline Rush with Ralph and the others." _They seemed pretty disappointed about that too._

"Speaking of Adrenaline Rush again," Jet said wryly, "You'll never guess who we met there." _Even though you **just** mentioned the name of one of the people we met._

"Then tell me," Charley scoffed, "There's apparently no point in me guessing."

"There's a new Ralph and Felix," Jet said wryly. _I know you like Ralph since he introduced you to the racers you didn't know already._

"Really?" Charley asked with a laugh, "Did they meet each other yet? It didn't cause an antimatter explosion, did it?"

"Not yet," Crumbelina said with a chuckle, "Maybe tomorrow they will." _Antimatter.._

"Alright," Charley said with a smile, "Well I was just coming in here for a bite to eat, I'm sure you guys probably ate already.." _You guys always eat out, after all._

"Oh, that's another thing," Jet said wryly, "The food there is **amazing**. Look forward to it." _Look forward to it, I say!_

"Well if you put it **that** way," Charley said with a laugh, "I guess it must really **be **amazing. Save me some next time you guys go."

"Sure thing," Jet said while rubbing Charley lightly on the back, "I'll see you in the morning." _Hey Crumbelina, you wanna?_

_Since the arcade closed this evening, Jet. Like that's even a question anymore. _"Don't stay up too late now, Charley," Crumbelina said sweetly. _He's been such a good kid lately._

Jet and Crumbelina went into their room.

"Now the question is.." Charley said to himself, "Peanut butter and jelly, or fish and cheese sandwich.. I could always have the latter and then vanilla ice cream with peanut butter chunks and chocolate like Garret mentioned before. That could be good." _Yeah, I think I'll do that.._

* * *

"I can't believe how good the food was there," Minty said excitedly as she practically jumped onto her couch, "Five star? Six? Seven? I want to try one of those **really** expensive meals someday.." _Hopefully soon._

"Expensive enough to rival the cost of a monster truck," Leon said with a chuckle as he sat down beside her, eagerly wrapping his arms around her.

"It's ridiculous to be sure," Minty said happily as she leaned into him, wrapping an arm around his back, "But at the same time I can totally believe it with the so-called cheap meal that the new Felix let us have for free." _Those guys are __**so**__ nice, just like the Ralph and Felix we already knew._

"So I'm thinking," Leon said, "How would you like Garret and I to bring our cruisers here tomorrow and pick up some mentos before heading over to Adrenaline Rush again? And whatever else you think might be worth some 'cherries', of course." _Get that truck all the sooner._

"You want that truck bad," Minty said with a knowing smile. _It'd be nice to have one of our own so we didn't have to rely on others. I want to drive one at __**least**__ once too!_

Leon beamed, "Well you being able to read my mind kind of makes it easy to guess what I'm thinking."

"It's so weird!" Minty said with a laugh, "I like it, but why did it take us so long to notice?" _It was easy enough to figure out the connection once we knew it was there._

"Heck if I know," Leon said with a smile, "I guess it has to be at least somewhat intentional, maybe? I don't hear **every** single thought you have. Just the ones directed at me as far as I can tell." _Probably works on a principal like that. Two files willingly sharing information.._

"Probably," Minty said with a laugh, "It does get a little tiring after a while though." _Mild headache that lasts a minute or so._

"Poor Garret," Leon said with a chuckle. _He must be going through hell._

"Poor **Jubileena**," Minty corrected playfully, "Have you not seen how antsy she's been?" _I want her to join the club, but I also don't want to embarrass her.. Hmm. I suppose it'll happen on its own sooner or later.._

"Antsy," Leon said with a laugh, "Yeah, now that you mention it, I suppose so."

"You think Ralph and Felix are okay?" Minty asked suddenly, "I know they said that they would have the Satoru guy they keep talking about look into it, but still.. Suddenly feeling weak and tired. It sounds pretty dangerous. I hope it's not some kind of virus."

"It's probably not a virus," Leon said, "Whatever it is, it only happened once we were in **Fix-It Felix Jr.** for a while. I don't know if maybe I'm looking too much into that or not though." _It reminds me of 3 weeks ago._

"How do you mean?" Minty asked.

"Well I told you about what happened to the **original** Felix and Ralph already, right?" Leon asked, "On the day we first met."

"You mean when their characters got reset?" Minty asked, "You don't think the game is trying to reset them, do you?" _We really shouldn't be relaxing if that's the case.._

"Well, I doubt it's something so drastic as that," Leon said, "But now that I'm thinking about it, it's possible that the game is sending memories from the originals into them.. That could potentially be a **lot** of trouble. Luckily they have a developer around to catch stuff like that though." _I'm sure he'll know what's up and fix it._

"I guess so," Minty said sheepishly, "I just hate to see anyone feeling bad, that's all." _It would be really bad if they 'remember' things like who their girlfriend/wife is.._

"It'll get sorted," Leon said reassuringly, "Stuff like this **always** gets sorted before long." _Especially where Ralph and Felix are concerned._

* * *

"Well I'm bushed," Jubileena said with a sigh as she and Garret entered their home and sat on the couch. _I __**needed**__ this._ She sighed again. "I hope I didn't catch whatever Ralph and Felix has." _I'm overreacting __a bit. They looked like they were having a __hard __time __of it__._

"We did a lot of traveling today," Garret said with a smirk as he crossed his arms, "I think it's more **that** than anything else. Maybe they're just tired since they've been at it since getting plugged in.." He cleared his throat. "You know, getting some sugar in your system could do you some good."

"Tempting.." Jubileena said in thought, "I'm stubborn though." She smirked. _Maybe a little more nudging and I'd oblige though. __It isn't such a bad idea._

"Don't I know it," Garret said with a chuckle, "Just a thought, anyways." He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her middle. "So you like spicy food too, I take it. Since you liked both jalapeno and sriracha chips.. And you said the hot sauce made the sardines taste even better." _That's how I choose to remember it._

"The sardines were **terrible**," Jubileena said with an annoyed smile, "The hot sauce only made them bearable. But yes, I like spicy food. I'm a fireball, remember?"

"You're **still **holding onto me saying that," Garret said with an embarrassed chuckle, "So between spicy food and cherries.." _Let's not mention that, please._

"Cherries," Jubileena, "Hands down. I'd like to get a bunch of 'cherries' as well." _Can't buy anything in Adrenaline Rush without __**cherries**__._ She smiled.

"I saw your face light up when you heard that's what the currency is called," Garret said as he tickled her stomach slightly. _I bet you're ticklish.._

Jubileena laughed and said, "Well what do you expect? I'm cherry themed. I can't help but like anything to do with cherries." _It's in my code._

"I can't believe we haven't gotten you a **Pac-Man** cherry yet though," Garret said while shaking his head, "It's been 3 **weeks**.." _It's just always been some other game._

"I **have** been wanting to try them," Jubileena said, "They're so large though. They fit perfectly in **Ralph's** hands." _And Ralph has __**huge**__ hands. Well, the one from Fix-It Felix Jr. anyways._

"I'd help you finish them," Garret said while tickling her some more, "I don't suppose you're ticklish?" _You did laugh before.._

Jubileena laughed and said, "Well maybe a little." She grabbed his hand, ceasing its assault. "You're really doing this on purpose." _I love that about you __though__._

"Who me?" Garret asked teasingly, "I'm providing a service, aren't I? Free sugar, as much as you want."

"There's no such thing as free in the sugar business," Jubileena said teasingly, "You're getting something out of it too." _Any more than this and __we might as well.__._

"What am I getting?" Garret asked sweetly as he nuzzled his face into her neck, "I'm curious." _I hope it's something good._

Jubileena grinned wide, but didn't say anything. _Alright, you win.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** These three couples aren't finished with their day yet. I just ran out of time. I just wanted to get a chapter up because it had been a few days.

In case you're wondering what's up with the few days hiatus, my internet wasn't working. I had to use a neighbor's wifi earlier to put up the M-rated chapter for Ralph and Vannie. So if you didn't catch it yet, and you wanted to read Ralph and Vannie's first time, look for chapter 2 of 'Honeyglows With Lemon'.


	102. Day 21's End - Deal

"Hey Candice?" Vanellope asked as she and Candice laid down in Candice's bed. Vanellope snuggled up to her for comfort.

"Yes?" Candice asked warmly as she softly stroked Vanellope's hair, which was down and had its candy removed. Her hair was down as well, covering her face slightly.

"Is there something bothering you?" Vanellope asked softly, "You seem distracted." _Or unhappy, I can hardly tell._

Candice scrunched her face slightly and sighed. _I knew this was coming eventually._ "It's just the whole business of making people and modifying memories.." She hugged Vanellope closer to her. "You understand what I mean.." _Considering how I was made.._

Vanellope groaned sadly and said, "I don't know what to say, sorry.. I know we've sort of contradicted ourselves a little about that.." _How can I make her feel better about it? __We didn't do anything bad.._

"It's okay, Vanellope," Candice said earnestly, "I just wish I could have been made with my game like you guys were." _It's no fun getting singled out for being different._ "I'm not used to people looking at me like I'm some kid of experiment."

"They **don't**!" Vanellope said insistently, "I mean.." She sighed. "Candice, even if some people **might**someday, we **love** you. It doesn't matter that we made you ourselves, does it?" _It's not like any of us had a say in how __**we**__ were originally created. And we made sure to give you a happy life, __unlike what most of us got__.._

"I just don't know how genuine our feelings can be said to be," Candice said sadly, "I love you guys **so much**, but I was **programmed** to love you. I'm sure I would love you guys anyway, but it's scary how easily manipulated we are." _What if someone decides they want to program me into their slave or something like that?_

"It **is** scary," Vanellope said, tears welling in her eyes, "I know **exactly** how scary that can be.." _I have 15 years experience of how scary that is._ "But we can protect against that now." _And we __**should**__.. Why did it take so long to get to this point?_

"I'm just glad I came out okay.." Candice said with a sigh, "Thanks for worrying, but it's nothing, really.." _I don't want to cry, okay?_

"Candice?" Vanellope asked earnestly. _This might help.._

"Yes?" Candice asked. _Just say i__t,__ sis. Whatever it is.._

"When we wake up in the morning, we can show you your code.." Vanellope said softly, "The code doesn't lie. It can't.. So you won't have to worry. You can even add your own password. He would understand." _King Candy has nothing to hide._

"What's it like?" Candice asked nervously, "Our code room and stuff like that. I didn't get a look at whatever it was Tammy was doing." _It looked interesting, __but there was the whole thing with the developers and yet another Vanellope__._

"The one here and the one in Sugar Rush are different," Vanellope said, "I don't know how they got a floor and gravity in theirs, or how they shrunk the files down, but ours is the opposite of all that. You gotta swim around in zero gravity and the files are huge. King Candy used to get paranoid and tie a rope around himself to pull himself back, but it's not necessary." _Unless maybe someone would close the door on you and you can't find the way out. But then you could just change your location from your file.._

"You really think he won't mind me putting a password on my files?" Candice asked, "I don't want him to think it's because of a lack of trust in him.." _I just want to know all about myself.. And I don't want anyone to change that later.._

"I'll put one on mine too," Vanellope said, "I should have done it when Tammy put one on hers earlier. Ralph has one on his too already, but that's because we kept giving him spells."

"Which ones?" Candice asked sheepishly. _I didn't know this.. __I know he has spells though.._

"Originally he was just a wrecking machine, a wizard in his hidden backstory only," Vanellope said sheepishly, "He made himself able to clean himself whenever he snaps his fingers, because his code makes him dirty at the start of each quarter alert. And he can break things into whatever shape he imagines because of something Vannie suggested for your present." _He needs a __**really**__ clear mental image for that though __apparently__._

"That was her idea?" Candice asked with a smile. _I'll have to thank her too. __It's my favorite possession._

"And finally, I made him get a power to change his and other people's outfits into whatever he imagines," Vanellope said with a smile, "It comes in handy since he's programmed to wear hobo overalls." _He looks so much better now. It's not __**his**__ fault he was only given overalls. __He probably only stuck with the overalls because it's all he had and he was too lazy to change anyway. He has been using that power ever since he got it, __so he must like it. I knew he would__._

"So **you're** to blame," Candice said with a chuckle, "I didn't know the reasons for his spells, but I guess I do now.." _I __think__ I __**will**__add a password to m__y files__.._ "Alright, well we need to get some sleep. We'll do that in the morning." _Thank you, Vanellope._

"Goodnight," Vanellope said as she shifted herself slightly and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight," Candice said with a sigh as she closed her eyes and the two went to sleep.

* * *

"Thanks again for letting me do this," Calhoun said plainly as she put the last few finishing touches on her copy's black box. _This should do it.. _It was nothing major, just a few things that she wanted to give herself because it seemed like a good idea. Things like being pretty good at bowling in her teens, meeting Elvis while he was in the witness protection program after him having faked his death, and having a predisposition to getting along with her and her friends.

"Don't mention it.." Satoru said plainly, "I'm sorry that it had to come to this, but I won't apologize for bringing Brad back to life.." _If you hadn't met Felix, you could have still been happy.._

"I don't expect you to either," Calhoun said with a sigh, "Is there a good place for me to put her?" She looked across the files at Satoru who was creating an Adrenaline Rush card for her copy, after having already made her a home that was mostly empty except for basic necessities. It's what Calhoun said was best.

"You could either put her in her home," Satoru said, "or you could put her in here, or maybe even in Bramble. Whichever location you think would be best."

"What are the coordinates for Bramble then?" Calhoun asked, "I suppose there would be a good place, since she would want to get supplies and the like." _She's going to live here, she might as well enjoy the game._

"Hang on, I'll check," Satoru said as he pulled up Bramble's directory and looked for a decent location, "Okay, '-1456, -93, 64' looks like a good place. That would put her right inside the south entrance." _It'll look like she just entered town, won't be strange at all for her to show up there. __Well, maybe a __**little**__ since she's just popping in.._

"Alright," Calhoun said as she typed in the coordinates and pressed enter, then closed out the file, "She's live." _I wish you two happiness and all that. I still think this is possibly not the best idea.._

"I hope Brad appreciates this," Felix said with a frown, "Jaminy.. I can't say I'm happy about this in the slightest." _I want to be happy for Brad, I do. But this feels so __**wrong**__._

Calhoun scoffed. _My sentiments __**exactly**__._ "Okay, we'll be in the game tomorrow in all likelihood. It's certainly an interesting place. But for now, I think it's time we headed back."

"Goodbye, Tamora. Felix," Queen Lemma said warmly as she finally broke her silence. _If only things could have worked out better somehow we could have avoided this mess._

"Have a good night," Felix said cheerfully while giving the queen a grateful bow, "Thanks for having us."

"Not at all, Felix," Queen Lemma said warmly, "You and your friends are welcome here any time." _My daughter, Vanellope, and Vincent would love that._

"Noted," Calhoun said with a slight smile as they waved and finally headed out, going back to Fix-It Felix Jr.

* * *

After taking a few pictures and talking some more, Taffy and Shanks decided to head to their new home in Sugar Rush with little Taffyta and Rancis.

Taffyta sighed happily as they left, relieved to know she has some form of parents. _Today was perfect except for not making it on the roster. I think I might actually.._ She turned to Rancis and smirked while crossing her arms.

"I like that expression," Rancis said with a laugh, "What's up?" _She has the best expressions.._

"I'm just thinking.." Taffyta said teasingly, "Maybe I could fulfill my part of the deal we made **after all**. Since you did win first place today." _I'm actually feeling pretty good about the idea.._

"Are you sure," Rancis asked eagerly. _Don't say that unless you mean it._

"Well I guess you've been kept waiting long enough," Taffyta said sweetly as she slowly walked up to Rancis, and even more slowly draped her arms over his shoulders, "Don't you agree?" _Like I haven't kept __**myself**__ waiting.._

"I'd be **lying** if I said no," Rancis said, trying his best to not show his excitement, "And it would **also** be a pretty dumb move on my part." He smirked as he kissed her tenderly on the lips. "Those revitalizing chews Shanks gave us sure came in handy, huh?" _You were 'dead bones tired' earlier._

"Yeah, I'd be too tired otherwise," Taffyta said teasingly as she stroked his hair, "You'd better thank your lucky stars." _I already did._

"I do that every day I'm with you," Rancis said sweetly as he rubbed her back, staring into Taffyta's eyes lovingly. _Sap attack._

"You're already trying to overload me with sap," Taffyta said teasingly while shaking her head, "Careful with that quantity of sugar."

"Sap is my specialty," Rancis said wryly.

"Tell me something I don't know," Taffyta said while rolling her eyes.

"Drawing a blank on that one," Rancis said with a frown, "I wish I had something witty to say to that."

"You may have gotten first in the Random Roster Race," Taffyta said teasingly, "But you're off your game today in that regard." _You'd better do good in the races.._

"I think I'm satisfied with how things turned out though," Rancis said lovingly as he kissed her neck. _If I had a chance to change anything, I wouldn't._

"Well I guess so," Taffyta said with a giggle, "You've been waiting for years." _So have I._

"Only weeks, technically," Rancis corrected wryly as he slid off Taffyta's jacket, "But you're right, it feels like years." _Maybe we should first.._

"Hang on," Taffyta said teasingly, "Let's at least go into the bedroom first." _The couch wouldn't be romantic in the slightest.._

"Good idea," Rancis said happily as he picked her up bridal style. _Don't go changing your mind now._

"Hang on!" Taffyta said with a surprised laugh, "You'd better not make me hit my head on anything. You're getting carried away." _I give you an inch, you take a mile._

"Correction," Rancis said teasingly, "**You're** getting carried away." He carried her into the bedroom and placed her at the edge of the bed. His face flushed at the prospect of seeing her in action.

Taffyta scoffed a small noise of excited embarrassment as Rancis moved in for the kill. _Alright, let's see what we've got in store.._

After the two made love, Rancis wryly asked, "Again?" They both still had plenty of energy to spare as it turned out, as they quickly recovered from round one. _**Thank**__ you, 'revitalizing chews'! I'm going to buy __**so many**__ of those.. I hope they're cheap._

Taffyta groaned playfully and said, "I guess we'll **have** to if I plan on getting any sleep. I'm **still** not tired after all that." _Twice.._ She giggled. "I suppose it's not such a bad idea regardless." _I'm sure our relationship won't be all about this.. I don't know what I've been so worried about that for. Waiting has been __a saccharin-coated nightmare__._

"Just can't resist," Rancis said wryly.

"Says **you**," Taffyta said wryly, "Just get on it already."

"That's the **plan**," Rancis said wryly.

An hour later, they finally got to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** 'Revitalizing chews' are seemingly dangerous.. I've written an M-rated scene for Rancis and Taffyta. It's chapter 3 of 'Honeyglows With Lemon', for those of you who wanted to read it.


	103. Day 21's End - G-g-g-glitching

"First," Crumbelina said as they entered their room and closed the door, locking it in the process. She sat on the bed, taking off her boots. "What do you think we should do tomorrow?" _That feels better._

"Since we have these neat backpacks now," Jet said as he sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her middle, "I think that we should probably collect a few things to trade in to the snack shop. Knowing how much Leon seems to be interested in getting a monster truck, he'll probably want to go after some mentos, since they're the highest ranking item from here." _I wonder if the diet cola can be collected and brought too.._

"I wish we had a listing," Crumbelina said with a sigh, "Maybe we can pick one up somewhere." _Let's __**not**__ mess with the cola, that stuff is broiling hot._

"I'm sure there must be one," Jet said, "Ralph and Felix from Adrenaline Rush seemed to have a somewhat decent idea of rankings, and they're not even part of that game mode." _Although I guess they might still know because they're part of the game itself. Basic citizen knowledge?_

"Yeah.." Crumbelina said thoughtfully, "Well if it's about rarity, candy tree pieces might still be pretty good to bring, since it's not easy to knock them down." _Things like pocky and sugar is likely pretty low on the list, although they're all at least rank B. Also depends on how much we would have to bring of each item for it to count._

"At least unless you're 'Wreck-It' Ralph," Jet said wryly. _Him and Felix were going at one of them pretty hard an hour each day for a good week or more trying to make a __gif__t for someone._

"He's the exception," Crumbelina scoffed, "I'm sure Leon and Garret could probably shoot one down or something.." _I don't know how we would even 'collect' that. _"Maybe we should figure out the rules or something first. The chips and bark needed those bags. Maybe we would need something for those as well. Anyway, we can talk about this first thing when the arcade closes, I guess." She giggled and placed her hand in Jet's lap. "Let's not put this off too long, I'd like to sleep today too." _I enjoy this way too much._

"If it's about who enjoys this too much," Jet said with a warm, toothy grin, "It's definitely me." He placed his hand in her lap, rubbing her inner thigh gently. He kissed her lips briefly. "Where would we be without soundproofed walls?" _I shudder at the thought._

"I don't even want to think about it," Crumbelina said sheepishly as she slowly stood up and turned to face him, softly leaning him backward onto the bed where he was sitting, "I kind of told Vannie what you had King Candy do, by the way.." She giggled as she leaned over him, placing gentle kisses on the side of his neck. _I'm glad I was able to ease her mind about what was bothering her, at least somewhat.. I'd have gone mad in her position, I think.._

Jet chuckled and asked, "Is that so?" He slowly caressed the small of her back then rested his hands on the back of her skirt. "What did she say about that?" _I guess when you live in the same place as __**King Candy**__, you want all the assurances you can get.._

"You should have seen her face light up," Crumbelina said with a mischievous grin, "She didn't say all that much of anything, actually, but it was quite clear that it made her entire week." _This was back when you, Taffyta, and Rancis were off talking to King Candy about Adrenaline Rush lore and she stopped me to talk._

"You weren't too shy to go on that topic with our **princess**?" Jet asked wryly. _Talking about such a thing with royalty._ He chuckled.

"Oh, please," Crumbelina said teasingly, "Vannie will pry that topic out of just about anybody, given enough time.. It was my fault though, when I asked her what was bothering her." She planted more eager pecks on his neck, trailing them over to his lips. _Let's hurry up and finish this conversation.._

"As you wish," Jet said with a grin as he began to stand up, Crumbelina providing eager assistance. _It almost feels like I'm forgetting something, but I'm sure it's nothing if I've forgotten it so easily._

The two made love and went to sleep, eager for the next day to come.

* * *

"Yeah, I'm sure it will be fine," Minty said with a sheepish smile, sighing happily. _Are you ready, soldier?_

Leon smiled warmly and gently placed a hand on her cheek, pulling her in for a long, tender kiss. _Does __**this**__ answer your question?_

Minty smiled on his lips as she slid off his leather jacket. _Mmhm.. That it does.. I wonder where they put their monster trucks when they leave their game.._

Leon chuckled and said, "There you go thinking again."

"I can't help it," Minty said with a sheepish chuckle, "It just happens. I'm still not used to having someone in my head."

"It does take some getting used to," Leon scoffed playfully, "It can get pretty embarrassing if you're not careful." _Thinking about this and that.._

"How do you mean?" Minty asked mischievously as she rubbed the top of his shaved head. _Squeak squeak, squeak squeak._

"Squeak squeak," Leon said with a chuckle, "I just mean the occasional rogue thought. Imagining various.. scenarios.. you know.."_ Things best thought about, or __**enacted**__ in the privacy of the bedroom.. It happens. A lot. I'm guessing you didn't notice those instances __though__, because you never reacted._

"I **see**.." Minty said wryly, "I think I'd like to hear those kinds of things though." _It sounds exciting, thinking about those sorts of things back and forth while no one else is the wiser.._

"I'm sure **everybody** would," Leon said with an embarrassed chuckle, "but that doesn't mean I'm about to give them the pleasure." _You're a naughty girl. Though I guess I can't say I'm innocent either._

"**Good**, because I want to be the only one you 'give the pleasure' to," Minty said teasingly as she kissed him tenderly on the lips once more. _Now, to the room with you! I'm right behind you. Right after mm.._ She deepened their kiss passionately. _Or we could do it here, either way._

Leon eagerly slipped off Minty's pink hoodie. _Mm.. Well this certainly __**is**__ a __dilemma__. The bed is more __comfortable by far, but.. So many meters away.._

Minty groaned excitedly, thinking hard on the simple quandary they found themselves in. _I guess we gotta.. _She reluctantly broke their long, passionate kiss and ran off to their room, giggling and yelling in a happy, excited tone, "Come on, hurry!" Leon quickly followed behind her with a grin on his face.

After making love, the two lovingly nestled into each other, with Minty resting her head on Leon's bare chest.

"I think your idea is a good one, by the way.." Minty said, only then remembering what he said a while ago, "Bringing your cruiser things to get mentos, I mean." _I wonder what they do with them. Do they break them into smaller mentos? Carve them into other shapes? I highly doubt they serve them as-is. They fit in Ralph's giant hands.. _"I've always wanted to try riding on one of those with you.." _I'm sure I'd probably fall if it were just me._

"Then we'll do that," Leon said happily as he hugged Minty closer to him, caressing the bare small of her back, "Ralph said that they're worth at **least** 2,500 each, since they're A rank.. Ten of those max in stock at a time, so unless someone else brings some over, that will bring us to at least 25% of how much we need for a truck.. Oh, but I guess we'll split the reward between us."

"We'll see," Minty said with a giggle, "We could pool our resources into your account for the time being, since we'll all be riding with you until we get enough for ones of our own." _We'll have to check with them to see how they feel about it though. It seems like a good idea._

"Right," Leon said warmly, "Okay, let's get some sleep for tomorrow then."

"Goodnight, Leon," Minty said with a relaxed breath, "I love you." _A-D-Renaline.._

"I love you too," Leon said happily, "Goodnight." _Jump into your monster truck.._ The two chuckled, and after a moment, went to sleep.

* * *

Ralph(AR) and Felix(AR) nervously made their way inside Adrenaline Rush and headed to Bramble in Ralph(AR)'s monster truck, their heads slightly glitching into small yellow cubes of binary on occasion.

Ralph(AR) winced as he parked and took out his phone to call Satoru as they got out, forgetting why exactly they would have gone to Bramble in the first place. _Hurry up and answer.._

"T-t-t-this is bad," Felix(AR) said worriedly with a pained expression as flashes of the original Felix's life wormed their way into his thoughts after another glitch.

"Just try not to think abo-o-out it," Ralph(AR) said, overcome by another glitch, "Although that's not helping much." He stroked his temple as he leaned backward against his truck, closing his eyes while holding his phone to his ear. "Satoru, something's wrong.."

Felix(AR) saw somebody head inside Bramble from the corner of his eye, unsure where he had seen them before. _I __**know**__ that person.._ He winced after another glitch took over and quickly walked off to follow them as if it were the only thing that matters. _They might know something about this.._

Ralph(AR) sighed, not noticing Felix(AR) leave. _How do I explain this, exactly?_ "I'm not s-u-u-u-ure how to explain it, but we're glitching.." he said worriedly, "It started with this headache when we went into my original's game.." He wiped his face with his hand in a tired, downward motion. _I still won't say the game's name.. _He glanced down to where Felix(AR) was a moment ago. _Great, where did he run off to at a time like this?_ He slowly walked inside Bramble, hoping to see where Felix(AR) went.

"Well can you do something about it?" Ralph(AR) asked worriedly, "I don't want to make things even more awkward.." Ralph listened intently, his brow furrowed. "Tomorrow? Why not **now**? Do you really think something like this should **wait**?!" _This will get really bad. Don't you __**understand**__ this?_ He heaved an anxious breath and clenched his empty hand into a fist. "Yeah, I would **ap-p-p-preciate** that." _Get out of bed, you moron. Take this more seriously. The sooner you fix this, the less damage it can cause. I don't need to be attracted to my original's girlfriend.. I don't want to make things awkward for him and Vannie.._ "**Thank** you.." _A couple of hours he says.._ He sighed, cradling the bridge of his nose with his fingers as he hung up his phone and put it away in his pocket.

* * *

Felix(AR) had finally caught up to the person he saw, and felt his heart ache when he saw her face. _Jiminy jaminy.. _He froze in shock as he found himself face to face with a slightly confused Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun(AR). She was in her original's Hero's Duty armor, with her hair mirrored to that of her original. He smiled nervously and said, "He-e-ey. Agh.." _Tammy.._

"Are you okay, Felix?" Calhoun(AR) asked worriedly, placing a comforting hand on his back. _I wasn't expecting you to be this height. Are you the Felix from this game? But more importantly.. _"You're glitching.. We should get you to-"

"N-no," Felix(AR) said with a nervous laugh while holding up his hands in modest protest, turning to face her, "I-I'm okay. Ralph is talking with Satoru now.." _She's amazing.. No! She's my original's wife. I can't.. I shouldn't even be remembering this stuff. But I'll be dipped if.._ He glitched again, his face burning red. _She's.. __She's__ not the Tammy he__'s married to__.. She belongs to Brad. _He felt the wind get knocked out of him and tears welled up in his eyes, though he tried to hide it. _That makes this even worse.._

"Great.." Calhoun(AR) said firmly with a sigh as she blew her hair out of her eyes, "A lot of good he is. Shouldn't he have fixed that already? King Candy **told** him how.." _I guess __**my**__ counterpart distracted him from it.. I should probably find Brad at some point since apparently I'm in love with him. Like I even know where he's at though._ "Come on, let's go find a place for you to sit down.. There's a diner nearby that has some pretty good pancakes, if you're hungry." _Although it's probably late in the day, now that I think about it. I can't tell with all this sunlight._

"I-I-I-I-I don't think Brad would appreciate that.." Felix(AR) said with a hurt look on his face. _I don't want to come between the two of you.. _He looked away and wiped his eyes.

Calhoun(AR) slapped her forehead in realization. Perhaps a little too hard. "I'm sorry.." she said earnestly, "You're going through the same thing your original did. I should have known.." _You're remembering '**me**', right now, aren't you.. What should I do in this situation? Think..  
_

* * *

**Author's Note:** I bet Calhoun(AR) showing up at that moment was expected.


	104. Day 21's End - You Decide

"What **you're** getting?" Jubileena asked, positively beaming as she held Garret's face still on her neck with a hand as he kissed it lightly in small pecks, "I wonder about that.." _I can probably manage by now.. It's just __**so**__ embarrassing to think about.._ "I guess, um.." She chuckled in embarrassment, fighting the urge to cover her face as it turned beet red. "I guess we could.." She sighed, trying to find the best way to say it, but couldn't in the slightest.

"Should I make you finish that sentence?" Garret asked with a grin, his lips still softly kissing her neck.

"If you do, I'll change my mind," Jubileena warned playfully.

"Understood.." Garret said warmly as he pulled his face away from her neck to look her in the eyes, "So how would you like to do this, I wonder? I don't want to make this any harder for you than it already is.." _I'm pretty nervous about this myself, actually.._

"That's hard to answer in itself," Jubileena said nervously, though she was still beaming at the thought, "I-I know I don't want to do it in here though." _Marshmallows may be soft, but I don't want marshmallow all over my skin, it gets sticky.. At least the beds are made of fabric and other normal stuff.._

"Alright then," Garret said warmly as he kissed her hand, "I have know idea what I'm doing by the way, just thought I'd let you know." He chuckled. _So don't expect too much._

"Well that's a relief," Jubileena said while rolling her eyes as the two stood up and was pulled into Garret's loving embrace. "I guess we'll figure it out together." She hugged him tightly as she rested her forehead on his shoulder and took a deep breath through her nose. _I wonder if I'll still need a cold shower in the morning.._ She broke away from his embrace slowly. "Well we'd better go then if we're going to do this." She chuckled sheepishly. _Yeah. I don't think I can hold back now after all.._

Garret followed Jubileena to their room with a warm, yet anxious smile where the two finally made love.

Jubileena giggled and snugged into Garret under her red satin sheets. _I shouldn't have waited so long.._

"Well I don't think waiting is such a problem," Garret said as he opened his eyes, smiling at her in a relaxed fashion, "I had said it-"

"You heard that?" Jubileena asked as she put two fingers over Garret's mouth, her brow slightly furrowed nervously.

"Yeah?" Garret said while grabbing her hand softly, kissing her fingers. _I wonder why I wouldn't have heard you say that.._

"I **didn't** say it," Jubileena said with a confused frown, "And you didn't say **that**, but I **heard** that.." She sighed, stroking her temple slightly and closing her eyes for a moment.

"How do you mean?" Garret asked with a confused chuckle. _All I said was 'Yeah?'.._

"All I said was 'Yeah?'," Jubileena echoed with a frown as she leaned up, pulling her covers up with her, "Did you just think that?" _Or am I just going crazy?_

Garret chuckled in embarrassment and said, "Oh.. Yeah. That's weird, huh. You're not going crazy, I guess.." _Isn't this neat though?_

"Is this supposed to happen?" Jubileena asked confusedly, "I mean, is this normal?" _In a way it's neat, but I don't want this to affect the game.._

"It might be?.." Garret said while scratching his neck in uncertainty, "I mean, in a sense we were **connected**, right? Maybe we still are?" _We're programs after all._

"You **had** to say it like that," Jubileena said sheepishly while covering her face with her hands, her sheets falling slightly, "Well for now I think we should keep this to ourselves.." _Don't go telling Leon, okay? Even if you want to find out.._

"I wouldn't dream of telling him, or anyone else for that matter," Garret said with a smile as he ran his fingers through her hair. _Have I ever told you just how beautiful you are?_

"A **few** times," Jubileena said as she happily slid back down, nestling into Garret's arms again. _Maybe this won't be so bad.._

"I think it'll be fine," Garret said in mild confidence, "So we're telepathic towards each other.."

"Yeah, so long as we don't accidentally think anything **embarrassing**, you mean," Jubileena grumbled, "It's **going** to happen, you know?" _It was hard enough getting used to the idea of doing this, now I have to worry about that._

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't catch all of that.." Garret said softly as he stroked her shoulder, "Something hard enough getting something something worry.." _There must be some way of preventing it, I guess.._

"Right, well actually that does make me feel better," Jubileena said with a relieved sigh, "No offense." She chuckled and rested her head on his chest as she wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes. After a moment she chuckled again. _I heard __**that**__ thought. We should go to sleep instead though.._

Garret breathed deeply through his nose in playful disappointment as she caressed her back lovingly. _Alright, then._ "Goodnight," he said sweetly.

"Goodnight," Jubileena mumbled as the two went to sleep.

* * *

Felix and Calhoun both sighed deeply as they entered the game Fix-It Felix Jr. They were nothing but sighs the entire way there, with the exception of exchanging unhappy thoughts in regards to Brad and the new Adrenaline Rush copy of Calhoun.

"I'm not going to make another one," Calhoun said firmly, "That's just inviting disaster."

Felix immediately noticed a headache coming on as he entered his game. "Something's wrong here," he said as he started making a bee line to their code room, which happened to be under the game's screen, "I haven't had a headache since my character was reset and I started getting my memory back.." _Is this __because of the new Felix?_

"I can fix it," Calhoun said seriously as she followed him. _Sorry, that pun was unintentional.._

Felix quickly entered the new code they had for the code room ever since learning that there was a universal code for older games' code rooms and said, "I'll leave you to it.." _I'm still new to all this stuff after all._

The code room of Fix-It Felix Jr. was quite similar to the ones in the Sugar Rush games, however there was a significantly smaller amount of files, and they were much larger as well.

"At least we don't have a lot of searching to do," Calhoun said firmly, "You holding up okay?"

"M-m-mild headache," Felix said as he glitched slightly, "I don't miss these headaches in the slightest. We'd better check on Ralph's too while we're at it." _I don't know what kind of damage could be caused otherwise._

"We should probably inform Satoru and the others as well.." Calhoun said firmly with a frown, "Or.. Well, I guess that they would have noticed something wrong too.." _Come to think of it, he never did finish fixing things as King Candy instructed. He got distracted by me making a copy of myself for Brad.._

"It's u-u-up to you," Felix said with an uncertain smile, bearing another headache inducing glitch. _It's more pronounced this time around. Maybe because this is my home game, or because this one is 30 years old.. At least we weren't both here at the same time._

"Hang in there a moment longer," Calhoun said firmly as she changed his and his memory's file names slightly to make his file unique to that of his Adrenaline Rush counterpart. _This is easy, I don't know why Satoru didn't know what to do to begin with.. _"You good?" _That __should__ have fixed __your memory__.. You shouldn't be accessing __**his**__ memory anymore.. __Now I just need to change your file properties to access your files during gameplay again.. Don't need you dying permanently during open hours.._

"Fit as a fiddle," Felix said with a chuckle as he intently watched how it was done, "I **do** remember a few small things from his memory, but I'm all good otherwise." _There's some food I'd like to try called '20% honey, honey ham'.._

"Well if there's anything that comes up, we can fix it," Calhoun scoffed. _Anything with sugar in it. Even for __the Felix in Adrenaline Rush__ it seems.._

"I can't help it that I like sugar," Felix said playfully, "Have you **seen** the effect pies have on me?" _Rhetorical question, I know.._

"Yeah, since you're a wizard and all," Calhoun scoffed as the two quickly fixed Ralph's and the rest of the Nicelanders' files and slowly headed towards their penthouse suite.

"I'll show **you** magic," Felix said teasingly while rolling his eyes. _I hate to bring him up again, but you have no idea how relieved I am that you chose to stick with me.._ He sighed.

"Would you **stop **worrying about that?" Calhoun asked firmly, "He's a nice guy and all, I'm sure, but I don't know the guy that well, **regardless** of what my backstory says." _So what if my backstory made me love him?_

"But you were going to **marry** him," Felix said with a pained sigh, "Can't you see how that would make me feel if he were to show up again?" _Which he will.._

"How do you think it would make **me** feel?" Calhoun asked sternly, "Put yourself in my boots, short stack. Sure, I have feelings for Brad. I **was** going to marry him until I got him **killed**.. But it's nothing, **nothing** compared to what I feel for you, got that?" _I wouldn't have married you after __**six days**__ otherwise._

The rest of the way to their penthouse was traveled in an uncomfortable silence. Not even a single thought was shared between them along the way. As they went inside their bedroom, Felix sat down on the bed and said, "Sorry.. I guess I wasn't really thinking.." He chuckled. "Six days though.. We certainly shocked the entire arcade with that one."_Ralph especially was shocked. Normally it would be a couple of months or so, given how likely our games are of getting unplugged after a couple of years._

"Yeah, well you can fix just about anything in no time," Calhoun said with a wry smile as she took off her boots, "There's no explaining your fixing magic." _It was __**you**__ who proposed in the first place on our third date.. You were so cute how nervous you were, how could I have said no?_

"Ha ha," Felix said teasingly with a relieved sigh, "So I'm a wizard. It may have been a **bit** early, but I'm glad you accepted.." _I was worried I was being too forward, especially considering your backstory, but I just.. I couldn't stop myself.._

"I'm surprised you didn't go the Ralph route with your magic," Calhoun scoffed, "Giving yourself all sorts of crazy spells."

"I'm lucky," Felix said happily while wrapping his short arm around Calhoun's small waist, "I've almost literally got **everything** I want and need right here. I don't need to change outfits or clean myself up.. Well, the outfit changing wouldn't be a bad idea, I guess, but still." _I can already 'unfix', which is the same as breaking things.. __And I __**was**__ trained how to fight by Master Splinter, it's just not my preferred way of doing things.. I should have brought some kind of weapon to Dragon's Lair, now that I think about it. I'm glad I didn't need to in the end._

"You're doing a lot of thinking," Calhoun said wryly, "I get it.."

"When I'm not tinkerin' I'm think..erin'.." Felix said then quickly slapped his hand to his face, "Ignore that.." _Why do I continue to make corny jokes like this?_

Calhoun laughed and said, "Oh come on, that was actually a little funny. Just because of your immediate retraction though.." She sighed. "Come on, we'll worry about all that crap tomorrow." She took Felix's hat and put it on his nightstand." _We've got more important things to do._

"Yes ma'am," Felix said with a teasing salute as he took off his work gloves and kicked off his work boots. _Maybe I could get myself an alternate outfit as well, what do you think? __Maybe not something as advanced as what Ralph can do.._

"All depends on what you want," Calhoun said wryly, "I actually like not wearing my armor 24/7 now. The way I see it, as long as it doesn't interfere with gameplay or hurt anybody, it should be fine to do what you want."

"Well it's not 24/7 when you're out of it when you're sleeping," Felix said with a grin, "Just thought I'd put that out there."

"Keep talkin'," Calhoun said teasingly as she bent down and passionately kissed him on the lips. _Not that you can like this._

Felix lovingly held his hand on Calhoun's cheek as he brushed her hair out of her eyes with his other. _Ja- Talking is overrated anyhow. _Calhoun slowly unbuttoned his shirt for him, grinning on his lips as they continued their kiss.

They made love again and after talking for while about potential outfits, went so sleep.

* * *

"Look, Felix. I'll just explain the situation to him. I'm sure he'll understand," Calhoun(AR) said with a sigh as she patted Felix(AR) on the shoulder, "We **can** still be friends, can't we?" _If Brad makes a big deal about it, then that's all on him. I still don't know how much I should love him anyways. I haven't met him for real yet._

"Friends," Felix(AR) said with a hurt chuckle, "Yeah, I'd like tha-a-at.." He glitched. _I wish this headache would go away._ He sighed, feeling practically drained of all his energy, getting worse with each glitch. "I think I **should** sit down.." He put the base of his palm against his forehead. "This headache is going to be the end of me if Satoru doesn't fix it soon." _I wish my hammer could fix it.._

"Come on," Calhoun(AR) said as she escorted him to the diner she mentioned. _It's too bad your hammer can't fix that.._

The inside of the diner was filled with soft lighting and booths with tan leather seats. The counter and tables were all made out of fake marble.

"Could you get us some coffee?" Calhoun(AR) asked a waitress who came to them after they took their seats, "Lots of cream and sugar for him, none for me."

Felix(AR) chuckled to hide his heartache. _She knows me so well.._

"So what's it like?" Calhoun(AR) asked, snapping him back to his sense after he had gone quiet.

"Huh?" Felix(AR) asked sheepishly, gazing into her eyes. He swallowed hard, being in the presence of the woman he found himself loving more and more with each added glitch. _Why did Brad have to come back?_

"Sorry, I'll rephrase that," Calhoun(AR) said with a sigh, "What do you do here? I was given information about a few things when I was added in, but it would be ridiculous to expect me to know it all." _At least I was informed about how to buy and sell things.. I don't really have a role here personally, I just live.. At least I don't have to worry about Cy-bugs._

"Well," Felix(AR) said after clearing his throat, "My role in the game is being a selectable character in the monster truck competition portion of the game."

"Your coffee," the waitress said with a smile as she placed their cups of coffee on the table.

"Why, thank you," Felix(AR) said as cheerfully as he could.

"Thanks," Calhoun said, then the waitress walked off to wait on other customers, "So what's that like? The competitions."

"Oh we just jump over lines of cars and ramps, doing wheelies," Felix(AR) chuckled, "There's also driving directly over said cars. It's more complex than it sounds, but that's the gist of it."

"I see," Calhoun(AR) said with a nod, "I never would have figured you for a monster truck person, to be honest. But then I only have knowledge of you from Fix-It Felix Jr. He doesn't even know how to drive yet."

Felix(AR) glitched and scoffed in embarrassment, "Ye-e-a-ah, I remember that.." He grabbed his coffee and took a sip.

"I just want you to know," Calhoun(AR) said with a sigh, "You really are a good guy.." _I don't enjoy doing this to you.. I can tell how much I must be putting you through right now._

"So I'm told," Felix(AR) said with a somber smile, "Forgive me for saying, but you really are one dynamite gal.." He slowly and sadly rested his head on his arms after moving his coffee. _Why did this have to happen just because I went into the game Fix-It Felix Jr.? These aren't even my memories, so why is it breaking my heart like this?_

"Should we leave?" Calhoun(AR) asked earnestly. _After paying. _"I know this is hard.. I didn't mean for this to happen.." _I'm so sorry about this.._

"We-e-e probably should," Felix(AR) said with glitch and a sigh as he sat back up, wiping his eyes, "I just.. I just need to sort all this out in my head." _We could have been so happy together.._

"So this is where you were," Ralph(AR) said with a relieved sigh as he entered the diner, "Who's this?" _I had to ask around._

"Ah, Ralph," Felix(AR) said nervously, seemingly perked up, "This is Tammy er.. Tamora." Although you would call her Calhoun.

"Technically," Calhoun(AR) said firmly, "I'm a copy though.." _Of course Ralph would still call me Calhoun.._

"I se-e-e," Ralph(AR) said tiredly with a glitch and crossed his arms. _Calhoun.. Where do I know her from?_ "I could certainly use a copy of **someone** about now.." _Vannie.._

"I can about imagine.." Calhoun(AR) said in a knowing, serious tone, "I'm sorry you guys have to go through something like this, if that means anything."

"Thanks.." Ralph(AR) grumbled, "I don't know how I'll react when I eventually meet them.. It's that bad.."

Felix(AR) nodded in agreement and said, "How do you think **I **feel, brother?" _I may not have met the original Tammy, but I'll be dipped if it's not tearing me up inside sitting at the same table as a copy of her.._

"What do you mean?" Ralph(AR) asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. _That rings a bell, but why?_

Calhoun(AR) sighed and said, "I'm the copy of his counterpart's wife.."

"So what's the problem there?" Ralph(AR) asked, "Why don't you two just follow suit?" _That makes sense, yeah.._

"She's engaged to someone named Brad," Felix(AR) said with a sigh as he rested his head on a raised arm, his elbow firmly planted on the table. He gently stirred the remainder of his coffee.

Calhoun(AR) scratched her head and said, "Well not really.. I mean, I haven't even met him personally yet and I wasn't programmed as his fiancee. It's complicated." _I'm making excuses?.._

"So you're just out for coffee with Felix," Ralph(AR) said with a nod, "I don't mean to get into your business but it seems to me like you're not too certain about this Brad guy."

"Listen, Wreck-It," Calhoun(AR) said as she suddenly stood up, slamming her hands on the table, "I was trying to help him when he was glitching. Do you think I **enjoy** the fact that I'm breaking his heart right now?"

"Please, you two," Felix(AR) said, "Ca-a-alm down.. Ralph, she's right. We just happened to meet outside and she said I should sit down. So we came here.." _Although I followed her in order to meet her.._

Calhoun sighed and sat back down, draping an arm backward over the seat and said, "Ralph, I don't have everything sorted out, okay? I was literally **just** finished not even an hour ago."

"Since you don't really know this Brad guy," Ralph(AR) said with a sigh, "What's the harm in going with Felix instead? From what I can understand, **his** counterpart is married to **your** copy, so that must mean that they've got something pretty good, right?" _I don't want Felix going through what I'm going through right now.._

"That's exactly the problem here," Calhoun(AR) scoffed, "I was programmed with the intent to keep Brad away from my original and her husband. I just know it.."

"Ay yai yai," Ralph(AR) said with a sigh as he wiped his face with his hand in a downward motion, "Well, is there maybe some other way you could achieve that without actually being Brad's lover? Sorry to put it so bluntly.. I'm just trying to look out of my little brother here."

"I'm older," Felix(AR) said with a sigh. _I appreciate what you're trying to do Ralph, but you're trying to break up a potentially happy couple.. I just can't bring myself to say it._

"I need time to think.." Calhoun said while leaning her head backward onto the back of the booth, "I won't know anything until I meet Brad.. I could be happy with Felix.. I **know** that. It's buried deep within my code in several places, but I don't know how I should really feel about Brad. Not until I meet him. I'm not even sure what kind of person he is." _But Felix.. I know practically __**all**__ about his counterpart.._

"Is it so much to ask for, for you to keep the option open?" Ralph(AR) asked softly, seeing she's somewhat open to the idea already, "It sounds to me like you'll regret it if you don't." _You both will.. __Satoru, you're taking way too long to fix this mess.. What do you need hours to fix?_

"I'm not making any promises," Calhoun(AR) said firmly, "I'm going. See you later.." She stood up and walked towards the door after Ralph(AR) moved out of the way.

Felix slumped his head into his arms and sighed. _I shouldn't be getting my hopes up like this.. I should just let her and Brad be happy together. But this feeling.._

Calhoun stopped at the door and turned to face them and said, "I'll let you know.." _I'll see about Brad tomorrow.._

"I got your back, Felix.." Ralph(AR) said softly as he patted Felix on the back. _I don't know what I'm going to do about __**my**__ predicament.._

"You shouldn't have done that, Ralph," Felix(AR) said sadly with a sniffle, "But thank you.." _I'm so selfish for this.. Wanting her to not care about Brad.._

Ralph(AR) looked around with a cold stare at the people who were obviously listening in and watching. They all turned back to their meals. "Come on," he said softly, "Let's go home.."

"I've got to pay for the coffee first," Felix(AR) said with a sigh as he gulped down the cold coffee at the table. _Tammy didn't even drink any of hers.._

Ralph(AR) gulped down the cold, bitter coffee at the table, hating the idea of letting it go to waste. Almost as much as he hated the way cold, bitter coffee tastes, he realized.

The waitress returned with a knowing look on her face and said, "It's on the house.. We hope things turn out okay.."

"Thanks," Ralph(AR) said with a nod as the waitress meekly returned to her job, "You heard her, let's go.."

"Sorry about the trouble," Felix(AR) said with a sigh to anyone who could hear him as the two left and returned to the Niceland apartments for the night.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is the last 'Day 21's End' chapter.


	105. Meet Brad

"I'm going to be late at this rate," Calhoun said with a sly grin in the midst of a passionate wake-up kiss. _I'm looking forward to later._

"We can't have you being late," Felix said while stifling a giddy laugh as he broke their kiss, trailing kisses down her neck. "I don't want your game getting unplugged." _I need you on top of your game._

"Don't worry," Calhoun said before nibbling on his ear, "I have no intention of being late." She sighed and chuckled. "I guess I'd better go make sure the boys are behaving." She got out of bed and stretched. She was dressed in a simple, pale yellow nightgown she had changed into before going to sleep. _Like that would stop me anyways._

Calhoun grabbed her radio and used it to switch into her armor instantly.

"That certainly is convenient," Felix said cheerfully. _Although there are perks to getting dressed by hand._

"Well I did give you a radio," Calhoun said with a grin, "I guess you could be a technomage rather than a simple wizard." _This way is more efficient __than getting dressed by hand__._

"There you go again with the wizard talk," Felix said with an embarrassed sigh. _It's a little tougher having two conversations at once._

"You and Ralph are **never** going to live it down," Calhoun said wryly, "So you may as well live it **up**." _It's not that difficult. You're the one thinking at me all the time in the first place._

Felix chuckled, and after a moment said, "It sure was fun though, reforming our connection after I was reset 3 weeks ago.."

"Well when you look at how the connection is formed," Calhoun scoffed, "Is it any wonder we had fun?" _Really though, I gotta go. We'll talk later._

Felix sighed and grinned wide as Calhoun left. _I look forward to it. I wonder how my and Ralph's counterparts are doing though.. If I started remembering things from __**his**__ life, I'm sure it went the other way too.. That's especially worrying.._

"Hey.. Hey Ralph," Vannie said excitedly as she shook his arm. Ralph was sleeping like a brick. She rolled her eyes playfully. _I know how I could wake you up, but I don't think I could be very subtle on my way to the track.. I'm lucky we regenerate __with__ rest, otherwise I really **would** be walking funny.. How long is he going to sleep? _She grinned mischievously and climbed over him, her face hovering over his as she pushed her hair out of her eyes and kissed him. _Wake up._

"You say somethin'?" Ralph mumbled as he draped an arm over her back and pulled her onto his chest. He was still asleep, acting on pure instinct.

"Ralph," Vannie said with a giggle as she pried her head up from between Ralph's neck and shoulder, "We better get up and get dressed, otherwise we'll have some explaining to do." _Are you just pretending to be asleep?_

Ralph's eyes cracked open instantly upon hearing the key words 'get dressed' and 'explaining'. _Sweet Mother Hubbard.._

"Good morning," Vannie said with a mischievous grin as she hugged him tightly.

"We gotta get up.." Ralph said nervously as the events before they went to sleep came rushing back to him. He felt the cool air through the thin bedsheets they were under. _Clothes.. The pile.. _He blushed nervously as he released his catch and nearly fell out of bed as he slid out of it.

"Calm down, Ralph," Vannie said with a laugh, "The door is locked anyway. We can just say that we were kissing and it wouldn't seem out of the ordinary at all." _You're such a worry wart._

"I am **not** a worry wart," Ralph said without turning around to face her after he clumsily put on his boxers and cargo pants he wore the day before." _I'm not about to leave this evidence behind._

"I didn't even say that," Vannie said wryly, "But yes, you **are**. And we left the light on.." _I guess I can't make fun of just you for doing that.. Like the night you moved into the castle.._

"You did too say it, I **heard** you," Ralph said while rolling his eyes as he finally turned to face her. He tossed her her clothes from the pile and grabbed his tank top. _I think you should get your head checked if you think you didn't say that. __**S**__**eriously**__.._

"I think both our heads need to get examined in that case," Vannie said with a mischievous grin as she put on the clothes that mattered at the moment. _You hearing me?_

Ralph stared at her with a bemused expression. _You __**can**__ read my mind.. And I thought I was crazy back then.. _He sighed, slightly worried at what she had potentially been listening in on.

"Back when, Ralph?" Vannie asked with a laugh, "This is something new after our little 'adventure'." _I think this will be fun though.._ She easily maintained her mischievous grin, practically glowing at the prospect of what may well come that night. _Now we can have a certain kind of privacy even when we're with Vanellope and anyone else. Isn't that amazing?_

"Well do you want me to tell you or not?" Ralph scoffed in embarrassment, "It's hard to get my mind straight when you barrage it with your thoughts." _I'm still booting up._

"Quit listening then," Vannie said while rolling her eyes, "But tell me, I'm curious." _Let me try not thinking at you. Are you hearing this? Because you shouldn't be.._

"Thank you.." Ralph said with a sigh, "It was after I had taken a shower almost 3 weeks ago when we were finally able to get some privacy here, okay?" It was after one of your races. Oh, and it was before Vanellope started living here too.. We were talking about how you and Vanellope would both be mad if I missed your races and I thought you were reading my mind because you said something similar to what I was thinking at the same time." _And then after that I 'thought at you' for you to scratch the back of your neck or something like that if you were reading my mind, and you did.._

"Well that was just a coincidence," Vannie said, "But **this** is for real. I don't know if it's thanks to my glitch, or what, but I **like** it.." _Don't go telling anyone. It's our secret._

"You ought to get dressed too," Ralph said as he turned slightly in embarrassment. _You're getting me excited way too early in the day. __I've got a job I need to concentrate on, you know?_

"Well come on, I'm **half** dressed," Vannie said with a mischievous grin, "Isn't that good enough for right now?" She stood up and walked over to Ralph as he put on his orange hoodie, the hood got stuck on the inside and he had to pull it out. _I'm looking forward to tonight, you know.._

Ralph took a deep breath and said, "So am I.. But that's **then**, not **now**. We have to hurry or they'll come looking for us, and I'd rather **not** have to explain to King Candy why you alone were sleeping in my room with me."

"Is it really so bad?" Vannie asked playfully as she made her finger glitch ever so slightly as it traced Ralph's jaw. _Tingles, doesn't it? I think tonight will be fun.._

"It's bad, yeah," Ralph said with sheepish chuckle as he hugged her entire body tightly with both arms, "We'll have time tonight, I promise.. Unless Vanellope goes against what we're counting on by sleeping in here with us again." _Candice is sleeping in Sugar Rush tonight, remember?_

Vannie smiled and hugged Ralph back tightly, resting her head on his chest. _You really are too comfortable.. I'm glad you're finally letting me into your personal space more._

"It's not **my** fault," Ralph said lovingly as he rested his chin lightly on the top of her head, "There was just always something.. It's like until a little over a week ago there was this twisted force of nature trying to keep us apart."

"Well, good riddance to **that**," Vannie said with a giggle. _You've got some imagination on you.._ "Hey, how about **you** finish dressing me?" She grinned mischievously. "Since you did the reverse last night.." _The sooner you do it, the sooner we can go eat, and the less likely we have to explain anything._

Ralph sighed. _You're incorrigible. We don't have time for this, but fine.._ He sidestepped her carefully and grabbed her brown ruffled skirt off the bed. He closed his eyes and shook his head in embarrassment then tried to figure out exactly which way was the back and which was the front. "Well come on," he scoffed, "It takes two to tango."

"Gladly," Vannie said victoriously as she slowly walked over to him and stepped into her skirt, sliding her hands down Ralph's back as she did so. _I wish the arcade was closed today too.. Of course knowing Litwak, he'd **still** be here. Workaholic, playaholic.. _She sighed.

"Yes, yes," Ralph said with a knowing smile, "I know. Come on, tank top next." _Open hours will be torture.._

"That's backwards, Ralph," Vannie said with a grin, "Flip it around." _No kidding._

"Well you want **me** of all people to dress you," Ralph said while rolling his eyes as his cheeks remained ever flushed, "What do you **expect**?"

"Oh I assure you, I'm getting **exactly** what I expect here," Vannie said wryly as she raised her arms and Ralph slid her tank top gently over her head, "Now I don't suspect I need to tell you which side of my hoodie is the front."

"I got it, thanks," Ralph scoffed, "I think you ought to dress yourself from now on."

"I'll find some other way to tease you then," Vannie said as she glitchingly ran her fingers through Ralph's hair.

Ralph chuckled and stood up again, picking Vannie up into his arms in the process. He kissed her head and placed her down at his side then went unlock the door and opened it slowly after taking a deep breath. _I hope I don't freak any players out today with this smile of mine._

Vannie chuckled. _Worry wart._

Ralph shot her an incredulous look. _I am totally __**not**__ a worry wart._

"Are too," Vannie said with an innocent smile as she quickly put on her leggings and boots, realizing she wasn't fully ready yet. _Come on, let's go find Vanellope. And act natural. You're practically glowing._

Ralph rolled his eyes. _Me? Take a look at __**yourself**__._

The two went look for the others, eventually finding them in the code room.

* * *

"Alright ladies, what's with the chatter?" Calhoun asked in a loud voice as she walked into the mess hall of Hero's Duty with her helmet gripped in her hand. She swallowed hard and her helmet fell to the floor. After quickly collecting herself, she cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "Brad.. Nice to see you alive and well." She scratched the side of her neck. _The hell are you doing here?.. My copy went live last night, you know?_

Brad chuckled solemnly and said, "Hey Tams.. I understand this is a bit awkward.." He smiled a weak, warm smile and gazed at her with heartbroken eyes as he breathed deeply through his nose, holding back tears. He was wearing armor and his hair was styled perfectly, with not a hair out of place. He was sitting down at a table with Marco and Kohut who suddenly felt their skin crawling with the urge to run far away. "I understand you've found yourself quite the man." _You don't have to tell me, __I heard from the guys.._

"Yes.." Calhoun said with a solemn nod, "Look, I just want you to know-"

"It's alright, Tams," Brad said softly and knowingly. The pain he felt was evident in his voice as it quivered. "It's **alright**.. I don't blame you for moving on.." _It__'s going to__ take time, but__ eventually__ I'll be fine.._

"That's why I'm trying to tell you-" Calhoun said with a little more urgency, the concern in her voice grew as she took a step forward, uncrossing her arms in the process.

"No.." Brad said softly with a sigh, "I'm **not** going to come between you two." _It's alright to have moved on, __**really**__.. __From what I hear you're living quite happily with this Felix guy. Happier than you ever were with me.. It's.. devastating to hear.._

"Damnit, Brad," Calhoun said in a firm, demanding voice as she crossed her arms again, "I'm **trying** to tell you something here, so shut the hell up.." She sighed a brief, heavy sigh. "Thank you.. **Now**, whether you accept her or not, when I heard you were alive, I.." She shook her head and licked her teeth. "I made a copy of myself that has no memory of being in love with Felix, with a little assistance from Satoru.. She lives in Adrenaline Rush. She shouldn't be that hard to find.." _Where you go with this is up to you.. __She __**should**__ be 'good enough', being almost identical to what you expected from __**me**__. __Just with a little more information.. __And she met Elvis and knows how to bowl well._

Brad scoffed as the information sunk in. _You really __**would**__ do something like that, wouldn't you.. All the tears the news you were married to another man brought.. But would it **really** be the same like this?_

"What? Not good enough?" Calhoun asked as she narrowed her eyes at him. _She always has the __option __to seek out Felix __instead__. __In a way that's what I would prefer._

"It's not that.." Brad said earnestly as he leaned his forehead onto his hands which were clasped together. His heart was beating rapidly at the prospect of still having her, at least in **some** form. "It's just.." He chuckled solemnly and leaned back into the back of his chair again. "You **really** created a copy of yourself for my sake.." _Did you want me to stay away from you that badly? Did you __maybe __think I would try to force my way between the two of you? That **hurts**.. It hurts almost as bad as the thought of losing you.. Well not quite._

"Well it was either **that** or leave you hanging," Calhoun said with a disgruntled sigh as she pulled up a chair and sat back, somewhat distanced from the table. _Shouldn't you be in your game? The arcade opens soon.. Although I guess if you're just an Easter egg character it wouldn't matter if __you__ went missing for a little while.._

"Does she.. remember me?" Brad asked earnestly, his eyes were glossed over with tears. He dared not blink, otherwise there would be no stopping them. _Do I have a chance?_

"Only about as much as **I** do," Calhoun said as she blew her hair out of her eyes, "A few segments of dates where you call me a 'dynamite gal'.. She doesn't remember you getting eaten by a Cy-bug and then getting killed by me though."

"Ouch, so **that's** what happened?" Brad asked the other two at the table. _No wonder nobody wanted to touch that.._

"Yeah," Calhoun scoffed, "On our **wedding day** no less.. I'd recommend not rushing things when you see her, if you're interested in her. She's **not** engaged to you. At least not yet." _It's something that she needs to choose for herself._

"Attention: The arcade will open in five minutes," a woman's voice announced throughout each game and both Game Station West and East.

Brad sighed a grateful, yet still heartbroken sigh as he smiled at Calhoun weakly and stood up. "Thanks, Tams.. I appreciate this.." He slowly walked out of Hero's Duty and headed back to his game, wiping his eyes once he was in the clear. _I'll meet her and see how things go from there.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ralph and Vannie, and of course every other main pairing except for Felix and Calhoun still have a bit more before the arcade opens. I just wanted to give my portrayal of Dr. Brad Scott.


	106. Checking Her Code

"Wake up, sleepyhead," Vanellope said with a chuckle as she gently shook Candice awake.

Candice woke with a slight start, looking around almost nervously. She laughed sheepishly and said, "Oh. Good morning, Vanellope." _I forgot she slept in here last night._

"You want to go look at your code, right?" Vanellope asked softly as she hugged Candice, "So you don't have to worry so much.." _Here, have another hug._

"Yeah.." Candice said sheepishly as she hugged her back and ran her fingers through Vanellope's loose hair, "I just hope Dad doesn't think I don't trust him."

"You're worrying too much about it," Vanellope said dismissively, "Don't we **all** want to see our code at some point? Besides, you're the only one that you started with memories of that hasn't seen your code yet, I think it's only fair.." She looked down in contemplation. "I'm not sure if that was the best way to put it. What I mean is.. me, your dads, Ralph, Vannie, Tammy, Felix and Zombie all saw it, because we wrote it.. Probably still not the best way to put it, but you get the idea." _I'm not going to explain it three different ways._

"It's okay.." Candice said, "I'm sure you guys didn't do anything wrong.. I just want to see it and put a password on it." _While not making any of you upset that I'm doing it.._

The two changed out of their pajamas into their usual outfits and made their way out of Candice's room headed towards the throne room where they met up with King Candy who was sitting on the throne boredly.

"Good morning you two," King Candy said cheerfully, "Did you sleep well?" _Ralph is alone with my other daughter again I suppose. Oh how __**wonderful**__. I bet those two are up to no good.. __I can't for the life of me get the nagging thought out of my head, even though no harm could come of it.._

"Yep," Vanellope said, "Actually Candice has a favor to ask.."

"Way to put me on the spot, Vanellope," Candice said while rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. She smiled sheepishly. "I'd like to take a look at my code, if that's alright.. It's not that I don't trust you guys or anything, really.." _Don't get upset, Dad.._

"Well.. Sure," King Candy said with a confused laugh, "I don't see why not. We don't have anything to hide. Though it will be a bit embarrassing, I'm sure.." _I suppose it's only natural for her to be curious about her code.._

"I'm okay with that," Candice said with a chuckle.

The three slowly made their way into the code room and Candice immediately took notice of the differences as Vanellope mentioned the night before. _This certainly __**is**__ different.. I wonder why Adrenaline Rush's is so different from this one.. Unless maybe the developers just wanted to walk rather than swim like this?_

"It's quite different from the one in Adrenaline Rush, as you can see," King Candy said cheerfully, "Theirs seems to be the only one like it, though I could be wrong. I've even righted a few wrongs in other games, and **their** code rooms are remarkably similar to this one."

"Which other games did you 'right wrongs' in, Dad?" Candice asked with a laugh.

"Well," King Candy said as he thought about it, "I helped a man named Ash, from Undead Apocalypse 3. He couldn't leave his game because of a nasty set of roots that would constantly drag him back.. I also helped a.. well, a grim reaper named Grim who similarly couldn't leave **his** game, Dragon's Lair. Although in his case he couldn't move at all from the spot he was programmed to be in. After that, I helped provide tips to Master Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Their game wasn't running as well as it used to after it had gotten taken over by Jet and Set. They fixed the damage themselves long ago, but it was a little inefficient." _Joust is likely in a similar situation, but they don't want anyone in their code room ever again._

"Undead Apocalypse 3?" Candice asked with a smile, "Is that a **zombie** game?"

King Candy rolled his eyes playfully, laughed and said, "Yes, dear. It's a **zombie** game.. Here's your file." He sighed apprehensively as they approached it, though he thought he knew for sure he had nothing to worry about. _Why am I getting so nervous? There's nothing bad in there.._

"So what do I do?" Candice asked as she slowly raised up her left hand and tapped it twice, "..Oh." She laughed sheepishly. _Did they teach me how to do this?_ "Character profile?" She tapped it twice and it gave a short biography of her character. _It's a little wrong, isn't it?_

"We had to explain your absence from the previous game somehow," King Candy said sheepishly. _We didn't know what else to put._

"Oh, okay," Candice said with a chuckle, "Well I did just so happen to 'wake up' on the day Adrenaline Rush gets plugged into the arcade. It makes sense." _It doesn't line up perfectly though, but then again they couldn't have known there's no kids in Adrenaline Rush._ "Shouldn't we fix it somehow though? Since there's no kids living in Adrenaline Rush.."

"Alright, nobody would have noticed anyways, so whatever you think is best," King Candy said with a modest smile. _Let's see what you've got._

"Well.." Candice said with a thoughtful sigh, "I don't want to be the only person with a happy life on display, I'd like to stand out as little as possible as far as that is concerned."

"So what would you suggest?" King Candy asked softly, "This is something that the players can read, you know. And we'll have to change your racing dialogue to match for your story mode.." _When the arcade closes will be your first Random Roster Race.._

"I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to tragic backstories and the like," Candice said with a frown, "I know Vanellope's, but I don't want to just copy that, and besides you're not dead anyways.. I don't have a mom though. Maybe we could use that somehow?"

"It sounds good to me," Vanellope said seriously, "Although you at least won't think this is true, the way it was added." _That's just for show for the players._

"Okay so umm.." Candice said while furrowing her brow in thought, "Okay, so maybe I.. No.." She sighed. _Adopted is taken by Vannie, besides I want to stay Dad's 'biological' daughter.._

"So this is where you guys were," Ralph said nonchalantly as they made their presence known. _Don't think at me right now, alright?_

"What'd we miss?" Vannie asked with an uncertain smile. _You saying not to think at you makes me want to do it more, but okay. If it's the code room I'm sure it's something of some importance._

"I'm trying to think of a different backstory for my character," Candice said, "Since what we know about Adrenaline Rush now kind of invalidates it." _Saying I was living there at the time Sugar Rush took place.. Why would I be living away from Dad in the first place? I wish it weren't too late for me to say I grew up with Vanellope and the others.. But I haven't met the others yet anyways.. Except for little Taffyta. The older one didn't seem to even notice me, but that's understandable since she was there for her younger counterpart._

"Childhood illness?" Vannie suggested softly. _Something like that, maybe?_

"Didn't know how to drive yet because King Candy is over protective?" Ralph suggested with a shrug. _You know it's true._

"What?" King Candy asked with a nervous laugh, "I'm not over protective.." _I'm not, am I?_

"A little, yeah," Vannie said with a laugh, "Sorry.." _Freaking out just because Ralph and I were sharing a bed. We're going out, it's not unusual.._

King Candy frowned. _Well __**that**__ hurts.. Is that really the case?_

"Or we could put your age a year younger," Vanellope said with a shrug, "Since all the racers in my game are 9 years old.. We wouldn't have to change your appearance or anything like that, would we? It's only a year."

"That makes sense," Candice said, "But wouldn't I be watching the races in Sugar Rush still?" _I'd rather not add a copy of myself. We have enough copies running around, as awesome as they are._

"Big deal," Vanellope said with a laugh, "You're a new character, the players won't think that much of it, right? New characters get added in sequels all the time. Just look at the ones that came in Sugar Rush 2."

"Or King Candy is just over protective," Ralph said with a chuckle, "Just a thought.." _Sorry, King Candy.._

"Alright already, Ralph," King Candy said while rolling his eyes and sighing heavily, "You don't have to rub it in.. Though I **do** still have my doubts about that."

"Okay, we'll use this as your litmus test then," Vannie said mischievously, "Let's say that Vanellope did get her own room in the castle and I kept sleeping in Ralph's bed. How would that make you feel?" _Sorry, Ralph. He wouldn't dare try to stop us anyways. I'm a grown woman._

"Ay yai yai.." Ralph said with a nervous sigh. _You're pushing it with that, I think._

"I'd.." King Candy said as he furrowed his brow. _Urgh.. I wouldn't like that at all.. Is that what's going on?  
_

"See?" Vannie said teasingly, "I'm a grown woman, you know?"

King Candy frowned, his brow still furrowed with concern. _I knew they had to be up to no good.. How __long have they kept th__at__ from me?_

"Let's not forget why we're here," Candice scoffed while rolling her eyes, "Alright, so I'm 18.. and a half as far as the players can tell.. I had missed the cutoff to enroll into the races back when Sugar Rush took place and I don't have a mom, I guess. Well that's true regardless.. By the way, how do I know how to do this already?" _I'm not sure how, but I'm just doing this without having any prior experience.._

"Well we did hope you would have an interest in this sort of thing so we gave you the ability to figure it out," King Candy said distractedly, "It's in your black box." _Ralph.. I'm disappointed.._ He sighed._ Well as long as he doesn't hurt her, it's.. It's okay, I guess.. I would have preferred they get married first at least._

"Black box.." Candice said seriously while raising an eyebrow, somehow having an idea of what he meant. She closed out her profile after rewriting and saving it. She swiped at her inner files leftwards with her right hand, revealing the black box and tapped it twice, bringing up the large black screen with white text on it which had the large amount of memories they wrote for her. She chuckled as she read them one by one. "Oh, so that's where my appreciation for zombies comes from.." _'Fascinating in a good way'? That's one way to put it._

"Well your other father and I are friends with Zombie," King Candy said sheepishly, "We wanted to make sure you weren't scared of him. I hope that's not a problem.."

"Well, not really," Candice said with a chuckle, "I mean, it's all I've ever known, but I'm fine with that. Zombie is good to have around, using Ralph's words." She laughed. "He's a good guy."

"Exactly," Ralph said sheepishly. _I'm glad she's not mad about that. If she would have been disappointed with anything, it'd have been that._

"Oh, here we go.. 'If she shows an interest in coding, she can figure it out easily enough'," Candice said wryly, "Is it really that easy? It seems **way** too easy.." _Ease into the topic.._

"Yeah," Vanellope said seriously, "**Scarily** easy.." _A little nudge in the same direction from me.. I'm sure she's probably wanting to bring up passwords._

"Shouldn't we all have password locks on our files in that case?" Candice asked nonchalantly. _Thanks, sis._

"I've got one on mine already," Ralph said with a smirk, "Doesn't Jet have one on his already too? Did you ever change that since it was cracked?" _Why not __give __**everyone**__**'s **__file __a password__?_

"Well that was because I didn't want anything to happen to him when he went to Dragon's Lair," King Candy said, "It didn't seem to help though, since Charley somehow managed to crack it." _It __**should**__ have been plenty long enough for it to take a long while to crack __using a brute force method.._

"Yeah," Ralph said, "Not sure how that happened. Couldn't you just look at his memory to find out?" _I don't really get it, but maybe __the game i__s just really good at breaking passwords.. __Maybe I should make a longer password?_

"I would, but I deleted it already," King Candy said with a sigh, "That was before I knew about the black boxes. I had to sort through his memories by hand.." _Luckily I was able to search through them using keywords, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do it thoroughly._

"Okay, well.." Candice said with a worried sigh, "I'd still feel a **lot** safer if I put a password on mine, knowing how easy this is to manipulate.. Is that okay?" _Should be fine to ask now.._

"Sure, go ahead," King Candy said with a nod, "I'll add passwords to the others later. The arcade will be opening soon."

"I'm gonna add one for mine too before we go," Vanellope said insistently. _I'll skip breakfast today, unfortunately, but I have Adrenaline Rush cuisine to look forward to._

"Me too," Vannie said with a smile. _I might as well. It seems to be the prudent thing to do._

They all added passwords to their files for added security and returned to their games.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Phew.. Well I hate to say it like this, but don't fully expect everybody's pre-arcade opening scenes to be this long. This is just sort of plot relevant in a way.


	107. Planning the Day

Rancis woke up early, eager to start the new day. He sat up beside Taffyta, glancing at her proudly as he softly pushed her hair out of her sleeping eyes. _What new expressions can I pry from you today, Taffyta?_ He grinned warmly with the activities that the two took part in the previous night still fresh in his mind.

"Expressions," Taffyta scoffed as she playfully swatted his hand away, slowly rising from her slumber and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "Well don't expect us to go through that every day." She sighed as she pulled the bedsheets over her body more, grinning sheepishly. _It was great though._

"It was **beyond** great," Rancis said sweetly with a hint of mischief, "You're wonderful.."

"Thanks," Taffyta beamed in embarrassment as she playfully scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Would you like to go at it again, or shall we head to the track early after eating?" Rancis asked playfully. _I do think we would do well, making this a habit. But that doesn't mean it will be the expense of anything else, I promise._

"You're going to burn a hole in our sheets if you keep staring so hard at them," Taffyta said in playful annoyance as she bundled up further. _I always knew you were a horndog at heart._

"It's not the sheets I'm worried about," Rancis said teasingly as he gently leaned into her side and softly grabbed one of her hands, sliding his fingers into hers, "And come on, we've waited **years** technically. It's only natural to get excited about it."

Taffyta sighed with a wry smile. _I suppose that's true._ "I can kind of hear you thinking, you know.." _I can only guess it's normal after last night though._

"Yeah, I noticed too," Rancis scoffed, "I'd swear you were actually talking if your mouth wasn't closed." _Either that or you're a ventriloquist._

Taffyta rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, so one more time before the arcade opens couldn't hurt.." She grinned sheepishly. _I want to be able to concentrate for the Random Roster Race later. I absolutely need to win to finish my story mode as soon as possible..  
_

"I got you hooked?" Rancis asked teasingly.

"I think that goes just for you," Taffyta scoffed.

"I **could** go without if I wanted to," Rancis said with a chuckle, "But why would I **want** to?"

"Let's just get it over with," Taffyta said as her face flushed at the thought. _Don't expect us to do it all the time like this. We're just catching up a little.._

They got it over with, got dressed, ate, and went to the track where the other racers were waiting.

Taffyta eventually went sit in the stands to watch with crossed arms. _You better win a lot today, Rancis. __Here we go, new deal. Every day you're on the roster. How's that sound? I think it's fair._

Rancis shot her a knowing smirk and gave her a wave. _Whatever you say, Taffyta._

* * *

"Monster truck.." Leon mumbled in his sleep as Minty got dressed, grinning happily.

"I'm in the mood for some Adrenaline Rush food.." Minty said with a sigh, "We'll have to hold off though, I guess. We don't need to spend our money before we get that truck." She giggled. _I guess our food is still good though. Okay, waffles then. I'll let him sleep a while longer.._

A while later, after eating, Minty sat beside Leon at the edge of the bed and gave him a syrupy kiss. She rested her forehead on his to strengthen their connection. _Wake up, Leon. You still have time to eat._ She giggled as Leon instantly woke up, licking his lips. _I was hoping that would work._

"Waffles," Leon said with a smile as he stretched and got dressed, "Yeah, definitely thinking we should eat at the usual place until we get a monster truck. I don't want to spend our money just yet." _Monster truck. How awesome is __**that **__gonna be__?!_

"My thoughts exactly," Minty said with a giggle as she strolled into the kitchen slightly ahead of him.

"After we get the truck, then what though?" Leon asked contemplatively as he furrowed his brow, "I guess it's all just getting cherries to get really good meals? What else could we buy, I wonder?"

"That's a good question," Minty said with a smile, "We should browse the other shops at some point to see what they have in stock." _I've noticed that they have phones.. Maybe we could get some of those too?_

"Couldn't hurt," Leon said wryly, "Of course I've already got a radio that works on a similar principal." _**Really**__ came in handy 3 weeks ago.._

"Phones are better for **personal** use," Minty said while rolling her eyes, "I'm sure of that much." _Not like we ever had anything like that in Sugar Rush before. Which is odd considering everything else we've got.._

After eating, Leon gave Minty a long, tender kiss and returned to Hero's Duty, meeting up with Garret along the way.

Minty smiled and went to the track to meet up with the other racers.

* * *

Jubileena got out of bed, unintentionally waking Garret in the process. _You don't sleep as heavily as you used to.._

Garret laughed and got dressed. _Yeah.. Well I started waking up a lot easier once I met you. Coincidence or not, there it is._

Jubileena quickly went to take a cold shower, worrying about her only growing appetite for 'sugar'. _I gotta get this under control.._

Garret leaned against the doorway of the bathroom and chuckled. _Get what under control?_

"You know. Shut up," Jubileena said with an embarrassed laugh through the door. _I enjoy it a little too much._

"Sorry," Garret said with a knowing smile, though she couldn't see it for obvious reasons. _I'll do what I can._

"I'm so sure," Jubileena said with a laugh, "I appreciate that." _I'm glad I got over that stupid groups issue __though__. __I guess the issues in our backstories aren't as set in stone as I thought they were.._

"Me too," Garret said warmly, "I knew you would eventually.."

"I still like just being with our little four person group most though," Jubileena said, "Although the others are fun too." _We should hang around with Vannie and Ralph more. We hardly ever do._

"We could try today," Garret said, "Maybe ask Vannie before the race or something."

"I just feel like we'd be bothering them for some reason," Jubileena said.

"If you think that way you'll never get to hang out with her.." Garret said knowingly, "Am I right or wrong?"

Jubileena sighed and said, "I guess that's true. She might be busy today though, it wouldn't surprise me." _They always run off as soon as the Random Roster Race is done._

They continued talking for a while then Jubileena eventually got dressed and joined Garret in having breakfast. Garret returned to Hero's Duty with Leon with less than a minute to spare and Jubileena eventually sat next to Taffyta, Jet, and Crumbelina in the stands as she wasn't on the roster that day either.

* * *

"Am I on the roster today?" Jet asked curiously as he sipped a cup of caramel coffee. _I can't remember one way or the other._

"Nope," Crumbelina said disappointedly, "Neither one of us are. The same goes for Taffyta and Jubileena."

"I guess we'll be cheering for Minty and Rancis then," Jet scoffed playfully, "Well, Vannie too."

"Vannie doesn't even **need** cheering," Crumbelina said with a laugh, "The girl gets first or second place in like 90% of the races unless she's picked by the player.."

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Jet asked warmly as he rested his cheek on his hands. He smiled sweetly and tilted his head slightly.

"Maybe a little bit," Crumbelina said while playfully rolling her eyes, "Wouldn't **you** like to always be on the roster too?"

"Well you have to figure what she went through to make it there, I guess," Jet said with a sigh, "Her backstory is pretty unforgiving."

"What's yours like?" Crumbelina asked curiously, "As according to your profile, I mean.." _I never really thought about it until now.._

"Well, according to my profile, my brother Set used to be a good racer but he died in a racing accident and I'm sort of racing in honor of him or something," Jet said with a shrug, "It's good enough, I guess. Although I think it plays Set up a bit too much." _He was a good racer, sure, but I don't enjoy doing anything in honor of him.._

"I'm a little surprised you never went to the place he died," Crumbelina said softly, "We know where it is.."

"I don't know what it would accomplish, to be honest," Jet said with a sigh, "He just turned almost completely evil and killed himself because he got cornered there."

"Yeah.." Crumbelina said solemnly, "But still, I don't know.. I think I would have wanted to go there if I were in your position."

"Do you want me to go there that badly?" Jet asked softly, "We can go there sometime if you want me to.." _I just don't see what you expect to happen.._

"Well I'll leave it up to you.." Crumbelina said with a frown, "I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable doing.."

Jet smiled weakly and said, "Yeah.. Well, I guess we'd better go. I'm sure Taffyta and Jubileena are probably waiting for us." _Perhaps we take our time too much going to the tracks._ He chuckled as he changed the subject._ We're always almost late._

"It's fine," Crumbelina said warmly, "Alright, let's go then.." _I guess it's true though. Charley ran off to Sugar Rush to play an hour ago.._

The two made their way to the stands with a few minutes to spare.

* * *

**Author's Note:** There is a real-world arcade scene next chapter.


	108. Give It a Chance

Litwak cheerfully hummed 'Wreck-It Wreck-It Ralph', a song that sometimes played on Adrenaline Rush, as he pulled into the parking lot of his arcade, he almost always made it there at the exact same time to the very minute, depending on how many red lights he got stuck waiting through. _I guess I'll give Mrs. Inaba a call later to tell her my decision on Turbo Time. It'll be nice to have another piece of history in my arcade.._ "Come to think of it though, I don't know her number," he said with a frown, "Well I'll just call the company, I'm sure they could forward the call to her." _I'm sure she'd like to hear the news since she was impressed with my arcade. _He laughed. "The founder of TobiKomi! Impressed with **my** arcade!" _Another highlight of my life right there._

Litwak cheerfully walked up to the arcade doors and unlocked them. _I never in a million years would have expected a visit like that.._ He went inside and made his rounds checking the games for anything out of place. He did a double-take when he thought for sure he saw Ralph and Felix chatting it up. "One of these days I need to get my head examined.." he said with a sigh and shook his head before returning to his cheerful disposition, "Alright, the gang's all here." He began humming again as he quickly made sure his prize counter was fully stocked. _Wreck-It Ralph is a giant of a man, nine feet tall with __really__ big __**hands**__.. Livin' in a stump on his very own land, until his world went __**crazy**__.. I'm going to have that song in my head all day._

Litwak looked outside and saw the usual excited rush of early birds and right on time, flicked on the 'Open' sign then ushered them inside with a warm smile. "Last chance today, Lindsey," he said jokingly as the other kids happily ran inside while Lindsey stopped to chat for a moment, "After that, I'll finish Taffyta's story mode."

"Thanks for the warning," Lindsey said playfully as she rolled her eyes, "I only have a few more races to go, I've been working on more than just hers, you know?" _You have a clear advantage __though.._

"Me too," Litwak said warmly, "Me too.. Hey, you'd better hurry if you want to get to **that **game first." _The other kids haven't noticed it yet, it seems. I did forget to switch over the New Game sign.._

"Oh!" Lindsey said with modest excitement as she carefully looked around for it, eventually seeing the cockpit-style Adrenaline Rush game cabinet. It was predominantly black with yellow trimming. "Thanks!" _I know this is to distract me from Sugar Rush 2, but I really want to see what Vanellope's parents are like. And of course Ralph and Felix are in this game too. I think I spoiled myself too much while looking it up._ She smiled as she sat down in the seat. _First. Well, I'm sure Mr. Litwak has played it already, but aside from him, first! _"Oh, this is different.. There's a control pad built into the steering wheel.." She shrugged and slid two quarters into the coin slot. _Gourmet Hunter. I didn't look into that game mode as much, maybe I should play that one first.._

* * *

In the real Rio's hotel room, she was arguing with her phone.

"I keep **t****elling** you, Satoru," Rio said with a sigh, "It's not like that. I'm just going to play Fix-It Felix Jr. and see what his decision on Turbo Time is." _And maybe play Sugar Rush 2 and Adrenaline Rush to see how things are going.._

"I'm not buying it," Pocket Satoru said from his home in her phone with a knowing, sad smile and sigh, "Come on, Rio.. I can't do anything for you in here, you know that. And you also know that I'm not **really** your deceased husband.. It doesn't work like that." _If there's an afterlife, it's not a phone app.._ "I think that you deserve to be happy."

"I **am** happy. And I think I'm a bit old for finding some new romance," Rio said with a sigh, "Regardless of that though, I just.. I can't, okay?" _It wouldn't work out __anyway__. I have a company to run, and he has an arcade to run. __On two opposite ends of the world.._

"Rio," Pocket Satoru said with a loving, somber sigh, "What are you so afraid of? I'm dead. **Satoru** is dead.. You've already moved on, haven't you? Satoru wouldn't want you to be alone. **I **don't want you to be alone.." _You can't live your life just talking to your phone like this._ "Would you at least go to the arcade and talk with him until your mini-vacation here is over? Spend time with him.."

"I can't, Satoru.." Rio said with a sigh as she sat down on the edge of the bed. _Don't you think I know what that would do to you?_

"If it's me you're worried about, just send a version of you my way," Pocket Satoru said with an almost knowing frown, "It **does** get lonely in here, but I'm not doing **you** much good with things being like this.."

Rio sighed and laid back onto the bed and looked at Pocket Satoru on the screen of her phone. He was identical to the one in Adrenaline Rush in every way. He had his arms crossed and paced around slightly, the view of the room his character was in shifted to stay glued to him.

"Can you at least try?" Pocket Satoru asked softly, "Please?" _I'm here to make sure you're happy, you know? Although that wasn't intentional on your part when you programmed me __to be like this__.._

"You **do** realize that he and I live on opposite ends of the world.." Rio said plainly.

"So move to America. What's the big deal?" Pocket Satoru asked, "With how much money we- you have, you can **easily** afford to move operations here."

"But the others might not want to move. It's a big change, coming from Japan.." Rio said with a sigh, "Besides, we don't even know if Litwak is single. And even if he **is** single, he might not be looking to get into a relationship with anyone, let alone someone from another country." _Especially this late in the game._

"He doesn't strike **me** as someone like that," Pocket Satoru said resolutely, "He absolutely loves games, just like we do. He even seemingly knows all the characters names.." He sighed. "I wouldn't be so adamant about this if I thought he wasn't a good match for you. You have a week to find out how you and him feel about each other. Why don't you give it a chance?"

"Fine," Rio said with a frown as she put her phone on her nightstand and grabbed a pillow, placing it under her head, "I don't think it will be all sunshine and rainbows though." _I don't really have time to lay back.. I wonder if the arcade is open __right now__.._

* * *

"What?" Lindsey said in disappointment as she looked over the 'Chews Your Racer' screen, "Mr. Litwak.."

"What's the problem, Lindsey?" Litwak asked as he slowly walked over to Lindsey and the Sugar Rush 2 cabinet. _Everything was fine earlier.._

"Taffyta isn't even available today," Lindsey said with a sigh.

"Tomorrow then," Litwak said with a chuckle as he slowly walked away, "Sorry." _Not too often Taffyta isn't available._

About an hour later Rio walked into the arcade as nonchalantly as she could. She chuckled to herself and rolled her eyes in slight embarrassment as she slipped straight to the cabinet for Fix-It Felix Jr. _I must look so out of place, an old lady playing arcade games.._ "Now, Ralph, I haven't played in a while so I'm a bit rusty, okay?" she said barely above a whisper. She winked. _It's okay, you don't have to acknowledge I said that. _As she played, she knowingly gained attention as she advanced level after level. _I see he's using 1-point mode for higher levels.. __No wonder the highscore is so low compared to some I've seen.._

"Mrs. Inaba.." Litwak said, his voice was filled with mild, cheerful surprise. _Oh. I probably should have waited until her game was over. __Sorry.._

Rio winced as Felix lost his second to last life. _Sorry, Felix.._ She chuckled and briefly glanced to the side in embarrassment, "Mr. Litwak.. Have you decided?" She turned to face him and crossed her arms, wincing as she heard Felix die again. _Sorry! At least you'll get to switch out a highscore. Not the top one, of course.._

"Ah.. About that," Litwak said with a chuckle as he too crossed his arms, "I've decided to get it after all.. But you're **sure** that it isn't going to happen again?" _I don't want to put any other games at risk for the sake of nostalgia.._

"Positive," Rio said with a smile as she entered the letters 'RIO' on the highscore, having taken the 9th rank, "I can explain why the first went haywire sometime, if you'd like.." _I'm not sure if I should tell him or not though, to be honest. Maybe I should just make something up._

"Good excuse, but are you sure about telling him?" Pocket Satoru asked in Japanese.

Rio sighed and turned off her phone. "I'm sorry, I keep forgetting to turn this thing off.." _You're not making this any easier, Satoru. I hardly even know Mr. Litwak and you're trying to play matchmaker for your wife so aggressively.. __Well technically you're dead, but.._

"I'd like that, actually," Litwak said after brief consideration. _I'm curious what that phone has been saying though.. I wish I knew Japanese at times like this._

"Alright.." Rio said warmly, though her brow slightly furrowed in worry, "I could tell you over dinner, perhaps.. I don't know my way around here so well though." _It's been so long since I did anything like this.. There's a chance he'll figure me out right away. I suppose this will tell me right away if he's even single or not. I feel as though I shouldn't even be doing this.. __Satoru, like I could be 'over' you.._

Litwak just stood there for a split second before he smiled and said, "Of course, I know a suitable place.. I haven't gone there in quite some time, however, so I'm not positive it's even there anymore, sad to say." _It's almost as if.. No, couldn't be._

Rio subtly cleared her throat and nodded. _Go play the games kids. I can feel you watching. You're in an arcade, go play.. It's hard enough talking about this without precocious youngsters watching._

"So when did you have in mind?" Litwak asked carefully. _I'm not sure if she's hitting on me or not.. __No,__ I'm __**sure**__ I'm just imagining things again. What would __a millionaire want with this old coot?_

Rio chuckled, somehow managing to conceal her nervousness and said, "Well, I'll be heading back in about a week, so whenever you have time before then would be ideal."

"Well, the arcade closes at 11pm," Litwak said apprehensively, "I know it's sort of late.."

"Oh.. Well that's fine," Rio said plainly, "I'm not here strictly on business." _Just how many hours is the arcade open each day?_

The two eventually agreed to meet up at the restaurant at 11:30, after Litwak checked on his laptop to see if it was still around, and wrote down directions. He considered offering to drive her there since she didn't know the area, but didn't want to make things awkward.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Honestly I'm not too sure how well I'll be able to portray this particular kind of pairing, especially considering their differences. How am I doing on this so far?


	109. Ralph Is Late Again

"Ralph!" Felix called out anxiously as he approached his absolutely livid brother, "Ralph, calm down, brother.." _Jaminy, not again.._ He sighed and continued in a reassuring tone, "You've been so aggressive ever since she dropped the bomb.." He looked around at the large chunk of demolished woodlands. _I know Turbo Time coming back is something to worry about, but get a handle on that temper.. You're making it very hard to be proud of a highscore from one of our developers.  
_

"I can't help it, Felix," Ralph huffed as he stared at his fists, desperately trying to calm down, "I can't believe this.. I thought for sure Litwak would have enough sense to leave well enough alone. But he's letting this woman get to him."

"Our **developer**, Ralph!" Felix said chidingly, "She knows we're alive, I'm certain of that now. She says it will be alright.." _She even knows why he did it, apparently.._

"She doesn't know **everything**. She can't.." Ralph said pointedly as he walked past the mud puddle he was constantly thrown into, and slumped against the front of the Niceland apartment building, Felix soon doing the same. It was their usual after-work talking spot. "She probably doesn't know about characters merging with each other, or memories downloading and the like. You told me what happened to you earlier. The same will happen to the new Turbo and Set." _We're just lucky you caught it in time before any damage was done. I'm a little worried about our counterparts from Adrenaline Rush though. I need to check up on them.._

"Queen Lemma believes it will be okay as well," Felix said calmly as he put his gloved hand on one of Ralph's clenched fists, "We told them all about it, Ralph.. They will come up with something in time. Don't worry.." _Trust me, Ralph. I understand where you're coming from with this.._

"I can't **not** worry about this, Felix," Ralph said worriedly as he pushed his open palms into his face, sliding them downward slowly, "Turbo got his game **and** RoadBlasters unplugged, and went on to put Vanellope and King Candy through so much suffering for a decade and a half.. and then later had aspirations of taking over the **entire** arcade.. And **Set**, he caused four games to get unplugged **intentionally**, it would have been **seven** if he had his way." _We can't.. We have to do something to prepare for their return.._

"We know, brother," Felix said earnestly, looking into Ralph's eyes, "We'll take care of it.."

Ralph sighed as he stepped away from the Niceland apartment building and mumbled just above a whisper, "Thanks, Felix.. I gotta go.." _I'm going to be a few minutes late, Vannie. I know.. _He slowly trudged to the mine cart leading out of his game, snapping his fingers to magically rid himself of various odors and filth, and tapped his forehead to switch outfits to what he wore the day before. _I don't want these peaceful days to end.._

* * *

"Hey Jet," Vannie said with a smile as she and Candice walked over to him and Crumbelina, "Dad wanted me to let you know that he's finally going to start on the restaurant and ice cream shop. Can you pass it along to the chefs and Charley?"

"Sure," Jet said with a smile, "They'll be happy to hear it." _Though the chefs won't be happy to see **me**, understandably._

"Who's this?" Crumbelina asked warmly. _We have a new racer?_

"I'm curious too," Taffyta said with a smile, "Sorry, I only realized later I didn't greet you before when I was picking up little me yesterday.. I was bringing her to see our parents." _I'll have to head straight over for her race once ours is over.. I'm sure our parents will be watching hers._

"It's okay," Candice said with a sheepish smile, "To make a long story short.." She cleared her throat before continuing nervously, "Well, my name is Candice Kane. My dads, the two King Candys, programmed me over the course of a couple weeks.."

"She's my sister," Vannie said proudly as she pulled Candice into a close, loving hug, "I was there helping too, and so was Vanellope and Ralph." _Oh, I'm forgetting names._

"And Felix, Tammy, and Zombie.." Candice said while playfully rolling her eyes. _You guys had a grand time of it too.._

"Zombie?" Rancis asked with a curious smile. _So it's just like she's freshly plugged in.. I didn't know you could make people from scratch, but I guess it makes sense. A zombie though? Come to think of it I did see a zombie here a few times with those guys._

"He's a friend of Dads'," Candice said with a smile, "He's really cool once you get to know him." _I know most people are afraid of zombies and monsters in general.._

"So how do you like the game so far," Jubileena asked, "Well, and the arcade in general, of course.." _I'm not sure if you've been outside of the game or not._

"I love it," Candice said sheepishly, "I'm just a little nervous since everything is still so new to me.." _Being aware of things and experiencing them personally are two different things entirely._

"You'll get the hang of it," Taffyta said with a smile, "Oh, my name is Taffyta, and this is my boyfriend Rancis." She patted him on the shoulder. _So she knows you're not single. Just in case._

Rancis waved slightly with a smile. _If you say so. __You can certainly tell Vannie has had an influence on her __though._

"I'm Jubileena," Jubileena said with a wry smile. _More competition, but she's a nice girl._

"I'm Minty Angelcake," Minty said with a smile as she made her presence known, "Just call me Minty though. There's another racer named Minty Zaki." _Even though the roster __**still**__ says Candlehead. At least I don't get called that outside of the races anymore._

"I'm Crumbelina, and this is my boyfriend Jet," Crumbelina said with a smile. _I'm just letting her know you're not single, Jet._

"Hey," Jet said with a smile and a subtle nod. _I don't really think it's necessary to do that, but okay._

"It's nice to meet you," Candice said with a nervous chuckle. _I did know their names from the roster, but I appreciate them introducing themselves._

"And here come our guys, Jubileena," Minty said happily as the two soldiers casually walked over. They were both carrying a cruiser by a strap over their shoulders. _I'm glad you remembered those. We need those mentos!_

"Oh, that reminds me," Jubileena said sheepishly, "We were wondering if you and Ralph were busy today, Vannie." _Now that I think about it, where is he?_

"Now that you mention it, where is he?" Rancis asked curiously, "He usually runs here at light speed.."

"He's rightfully paranoid about Turbo Time coming to the arcade," Vannie said with a sigh, "We've been assured that they'll behave this time, but.." _How can any of us be so sure about anything? I hope Vanellope is doing okay.._

"Yeah," Leon said knowingly, "The first time around they caused quite a mess.." _Sorry to include you in that, Jet, but it's true for you as well._

"Unfortunately I helped make that mess," Jet said with a frown.

"Don't go sulking, Jet," Crumbelina said as she nudged his arm, "You're doing so well.." _I know the people you hurt are still kind of mad at you, but you've done nothing wrong since starting over._

"I know, I know," Jet said as he gave her a one-armed hug, "I just don't want Turbo Time back either.." _Seeing those two again.. I just hope they don't go Turbo like the last ones.._

"Since you were from that game originally," Candice said softly, "I heard.." _Or rather it was a little programmed information._

"Oh, by the way," Minty said nervously as she changed the subject, "This is my boyfriend Leon, and this is Jubileena's boyfriend Garret."

"Hey," Leon said with a slight chuckle. _You almost say that like she'll try to steal me away from you._

"Hi," Garret said with a slight smile. _I __really__ wonder what's keeping Ralph.._

"Well," Vannie said with a chuckle, "I can't really say if Ralph and I are busy today or not." _I want to be alone with him __though__.._ "But we'll see when Ralph gets here." _I know we don't hang out as much as we would like._

* * *

"Come on, Felix," Ralph(AR) said knowingly as he and Felix(AR) leaned against the front of the Niceland apartment building after quickly returning home when the arcade closed, "I know it's weird to have all these other memories from our counterparts, but at least the glitching and headaches stopped, right?" _Satoru says he needs to make sure the game is safe __for guests__ before he and Rio can work on anything else __like removing otherwise harmless memories__, but that doesn't make this any easier. Not to mention it's like trying to separate water and oil after putting them in the same glass. They don't mix, but it's incredibly difficult to not take oil with the water when trying to get it all.. Or so they say. I wouldn't know.  
_

"Yeah.." Felix(AR) said with a depressed sigh, "Do you think she'll choose to stay with Brad?" _I don't know what he's like, but Tammy is programmed to __**love**__ him.. That's a large hurdle to overcome. I feel bad about wanting her to choose me when she was made with the intent to make __**him**__ happy, but.. I'd feel so much __**worse**__ if she actually does choose him over me._ He shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Felix," Ralph(AR) said with all the brotherly love he could muster, "It'll all work out in the end, alright?" _I __know you're hurting. I'm __hurting too. Except in __**my**__ case there is no hope.. The closest thing __to Vannie in this game is an __**8 year old**__. She's not the same person anyway even if she __would __somehow g__e__t older. I __shouldn't even__ think like that. __It's wrong on a multitude of levels__._ "Come on, let's go watch a race.. There might still be time." _I'm setting myself up for heartbreak doing this, but I just need to see her.. The other me will be there as well which will make it more difficult to watch.._

"Ralph.." Felix(AR) said with a knowing sigh, "We've got it bad." He chuckled sadly and shook his head again. _Why are we doing this to ourselves?_

"Let's just go," Ralph(AR) said as he long blinked and wiped his eyes. His heart ached and he could feel a lump forming in his throat, knowing exactly what he was getting himself into by going watch Vannie race. _I'm not about to break up a happy couple. He's waited 30 years for this kind of happiness. __I just need to see her._

"I hear ya," Felix(AR) said solemnly, "Let's go.."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry Ralph(AR) and Felix(AR), things get better. I promise.**  
**


	110. Ralph(AR) Meets Vannie and Candice

Ralph(AR) and Felix(AR) slowly made their way to the main track of Sugar Rush 2. It was a disaster waiting to happen. They both thought that for sure, but at the same time, Ralph(AR) couldn't help it.

Ralph(AR) sighed apprehensively. _It doesn't look like he's here yet, that's unusual. What should I do exactly? What should I say? It's obvious who I am, so I don't need to introduce myself really. I technically shouldn't know Vannie's name yet either, or should I? I forget. But I know __**all**__ of their names. Should I let her introduce herself? Should I call her Vanellope? No, everyone calls her Vannie._

Felix(AR) sighed in return. _I know that kind of sigh. I wish I could give you advice on that, brother.. __It's hard being alone after knowing what it's like to love, and be loved in return.. _Felix wiped his eyes and said, "Put on your best face, brother.."

Ralph(AR) scoffed somberly and said, "Yeah.." _It just won't be the same without Vannie in my life. I have to remember that I'm not the Ralph she knows and loves._ He cleared his throat as he and Felix(AR) made it to the racers while putting on their best smiles. "H-hey guys.. The race hasn't started yet?" He scratched the side of his jaw nervously as he could feel his heart wrench at the site of his counterpart's girlfriend. _I want so much to take you into my arms, Vannie.. __Control yourself, Ralph. You can't lose control of yourself here._

"Hey Ralph, Felix.." Jet said with a smile. The others who met Ralph(AR) and Felix(AR) previously grinned wide._ This could actually be kind of awkward, now that I think about it._

Vannie grinned and asked, "**Ralph**? Felix?" She laughed excitedly. "You two look so **different**." _So you're the ones who came with Adrenaline Rush. Wow.._

"Y-yeah," Ralph(AR) said with a nervous smile, "Well we **are** from Adrenaline Rush, after all.." He swallowed hard as subtly as he could, trying to fight down the growing lump in his throat. "You must be Vannie, I'm guessing. T-the Vanellope from our game dresses exactly the same, so.." He laughed nervously. _Real smooth, Ralph.._

"Yep, that's me," Vannie said with a grin. _He seems a little uncomfortable. I guess that only makes sense, considering he knows 'me' as a little 8 year old, and here I am all grown up.. Not only that, but I guess __it's possible __he __might know__ I'm dating Ralph.._ _I hope he's not-_ "**Oh**! This is my sister Candice." She smiled as she quickly and softly grabbed Candice by the shoulders and pulled her in front to face Ralph(AR). "She doesn't have a counterpart in your game, so you wouldn't know her." _Here, __Candice. Y__ou can't get much better than this. __Sorry, new Ralph.._

Candice could feel her heart jolt at the sudden movement. "Hi, Ralph.." Candice said with a nervous smile before curiously peering over to Vannie with a raised eyebrow. _Very funny.. I **know** what you're doing, Vannie. Don't you think that will be a little awkward?_

Ralph(AR) cleared his throat and smiled a slightly embarrassed, nervous, and heartbroken smile then said, "Nice to meet you.." _**This**__ is her answer.. Of course it is. That's just like her.._

"S-so where are our counterparts," Felix(AR) asked nervously as he looked around, "We sort of expected them to be here to see the race. I thought for sure we'd be too late.." _She's onto you, Ralph.. __Sorry, brother. But Candice __**is**__ a sweet girl.._

"Knowing **my** Ralph, he's probably out wrecking trees or something," Vannie scoffed as she patted and rubbed Candice on the shoulders lightly before crossing her arms, "I'm guessing you didn't hear that Turbo Time is coming back to the arcade.." _Have you heard about it at all?_

"No, we were too far from the screen, I guess.." Felix(AR) said sheepishly, "Is that such a bad thing?" _I can't just let on that we know __about __this stuff.. That would make it that much harder for Ralph right now.._

"Well it **must** be, if I- **he** is wrecking something as a result.." Ralph(AR) said while rolling his eyes. _That **really** isn't good.. Satoru knows, calm down.. Ca- Well Satoru is an idiot.. Rio knows, calm down.._ "Is everything going to be okay?" _Vannie, you're breaking my heart.. Candice __**is**__ a wonderful girl, __b__ut it would be awkward, me having memories of her growing up. __Not to mention everything __**else**__ going on in my mind right now.._

"It'll be fine," Vannie said resolutely with a nod, "Queen Lemma, Satoru, Rio, my dads, and Tammy all say they can do something about it. So they'll do something about it."

Felix(AR)'s heart lurched at the mention of Calhoun's name. _I want to see her. Last night was a nightmare __to get through__.._ "I sure hope so," he said as he noticed Ralph approaching in his peripheral vision, "Oh! There he is now!" He smiled sheepishly. _I'm not sure what's about to happen. Ralph, Ralph. You two please don't __somehow start __fight__ing__.._

"Everything okay?" Ralph asked while cocking an eyebrow as he walked over, "Sorry I'm late. You must be 'me' and Felix from Adrenaline Rush." He smiled an uncertain smile as he extended his hand for a handshake, noticing his counterpart's hands, which were easily dwarfed by his. "I guess they decided to give you normal-sized hands.."

Minty laughed and said, "Sort of.. Show him, Ralph." _I want to see a size comparison.._

Ralph(AR) rolled his eyes. _This isn't really helping, Minty._ He suddenly towered slightly over even Ralph as he grew in size a few head lengths. His arms, legs, fists and feet also became large in proportion just like Ralph's. There was a brief round of laughter. Of course, Vannie laughed the hardest. _Very funny, Vannie.. I need to stop thinking about this. She's not __**my**__ girlfriend. She never was.. __It hurts knowing that, but __I can at least __**try**__ asking Candice out. I feel __like__ I'd be using her as a replacement __though. S__he doesn't deserve that.._

"Oh," Ralph said with a nod as he shook one of Ralph(AR)'s giant hands, "Well that certainly comes in handy I'm sure." _We could actually arm wrestle.. Hey, w__hat are you thinking about, Vannie?_

Vannie smirked at Ralph. _I'll tell you later, okay? It's nothing to worry about._

Ralph scoffed playfully. _If you say so.. _

"Is everyone about ready down there?" King Candy asked with a laugh over the loudspeaker, with a hint of impatience, "Hello there **Ralph**, Ralph and Felix. Let's race first, we can all talk afterward!" _I've been watching you.. I'm not so sure I like this development. __Vannie, you're nudging Candice down the same dangerous path.. Oh, but what do __**I**__ know? __**I'm overprotective**__.. Pfft. You try being a parent to a young, eager woman._

"Sorry about that," Ralph(AR) said as he shrank back down, "Come on, Felix. Let's go find seats."

"Nice to meet you, Ralph," Felix(AR) said with a cheerful nod as he and Ralph(AR) walked to the stands first. _Things are going a little better than I feared, but all the same.. _"Cheer up, brother.." he muttered under his breath so that only Ralph(AR) could hear.

"Yeah.." Ralph(AR) said with a sigh. _I don't know what I should do.. I __**know**__ Candice. I __**know**__ I could fall in love with her, given the right mindset. But.. I wish these memories would just go away so that I could think about this more clearly. Satoru and Rio need to hurry and make Adrenaline Rush safe already. I don't even know how they plan to do __that._

Vannie gave Ralph an excited hug and said, "You're late." _I'll explain what's on my mind in a bit, promise._

"Sorry," Ralph said with a sigh as he hugged her back tightly, "I was just distracted by something, that's all.." _I may have knocked down a __**few**__ trees before coming here.._

"Alright, go sit and watch," Vannie said while rolling her eyes in playful annoyance. _Going into racing mode, shh.._

Ralph, Leon, and Garret took seats next to Ralph(AR) and Felix(AR). Ralph crossed his arms expectantly as the race took place. _What's this feeling I'm getting about my and Felix's counterparts? It's like they've got something on their minds.._

First place went to Taffyta, followed by Minty, Vannie, a new racer who came with Sugar Rush 2 named Walnace Fluffernutter, Crumbelina, Rancis, Jet, the blue recolor of Jubileena named Citrusella Flugpucker, and Jubileena. Candice placed 11th.

Walnace insistently preferred to be called Wally. His kart's body was made up of carved walnut fudge, while the seats and tires were marshmallows. His hair was light brown, pulled back into a short ponytail. Under his brown racing goggles he wore while racing he had a pair of thin-framed glasses. He wore a light brown racing jacket over a white t-shirt and wore khaki cargo pants which almost completely covered the tops of his dark brown boots.

After the race Ralph ran over to Vannie with a smirk after jumping down from the stands. He hugged her tight and teasingly said, "You got third?" _You're slipping._

Vannie shook her head with a mildly annoyed smile and said, "Yeah, I got third.."

"Sorry, Ralph," Taffyta said with a smile, "I'm feeling good today." _See that, Rancis? I can do it too.._

Rancis smirked._ I'm sure it's no small coincidence it happened after I worked my magic._

Taffyta playfully slapped Rancis' stomach with the back of her hand._ That was all skill._

"Yay! I got second!" Minty said excitedly. _I placed ahead of Vannie!_

"Congratulations," Leon said with a grin as he walked over and briefly kissed Minty while giving her a hug. _I knew you could do it._

"So about my question earlier," Jubileena said to Vannie. _See, I'm asking, Garret.._

"Oh, right," Vannie said with a sheepish chuckle, "Ralph, are we busy today?" _It's true we haven't gone with them in a while._

"Well I was thinking of heading to Tapper's after Vanellope's race," Ralph said while rubbing the side of his neck, "We haven't gone there in a few days. After that, Adrenaline Rush, naturally." _We still need to find time to see Splinter too, remember?_

"Tapper's does sound like a good idea," Ralph(AR) said as he walked over with Felix(AR). _I could use a drink._

"Yeah, we heard about it in passing," Felix(AR) said sheepishly. _He's saying stuff that we wouldn't have known if not for their memories. Luckily it's easy enough to explain __that__ away._

"You coming, Dad?" Candice asked curiously.

"Not this time, dear," King Candy said with a chuckle, "I have a bit of work to do, you go on and have fun." He took a deep breath and drove off to the castle to begin programming the chefs' restaurant. _I'm worried, but I have an obligation to fulfill. Perhaps later I'll talk to the chefs personally to get a better idea of what they need. And to add them into the game's files as well. __Of course they'll __also__ need homes as well, now that I think about it._

"What about the mentos?" Garret asked Jubileena wryly as he wrapped an arm around her back. _Since we sort of planned to do that.._

"Oh yeah," Leon said while slapping his forehead, "We'll catch up with you guys at Tapper's, we've got a small errand to run.."

Jubileena shot Garret a smirk. _Well **there's** your answer._

Garret shrugged as he and Leon placed their cruisers over the ground. The cruisers hovered slightly as Leon and Garret hopped onto them before helping Minty and Jubileena on.

"Later!" Minty said excitedly as she waved with one arm, firmly holding onto Leon's waist with the other.

"Don't have too much fun without us," Jubileena said to Vannie with a sigh, "We should be back soon.." _Fly carefully now.. _The girls hung on tight as the four flew off towards Diet Cola Mountain.

"Have fun!" Vannie said with a grin as the four were almost out of earshot. _That looks kind of fun.._

Jet and Crumbelina rolled their eyes and shook their heads. "Don't mind them," Jet said with a chuckle, "They **really** want to get a monster truck for Adrenaline Rush so they're going collect some things to sell.."

"So shall we go then?" Candice asked with a nervous smile, "We don't want to keep Vanellope waiting.." _ I have to admit that Ralph __**is**__ a good one, if I were to have a boyfriend. __But __I don't know if he'd like me. __That might just be because I've always seen 'him' with Vannie though.._

"Sounds good to me," Ralph(AR) said with a nod. _Or are they planning to sneak off again first?_

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to introduce myself," Taffyta said with a smile, "I'm Taffyta, and this is Rancis."

"A pleasure to meet you," Felix(AR) said with a small nod, "We're glad you got to meet your parents."

"Me too," Taffyta said with a grin.

"Alright, well let's go," Vannie said insistently with a wide grin as she gestured with her hands towards the exit of the game. _Ralph, __I'm setting your counterpart up with Candice, by the way. I hope you don't mind that._

"You're what?" Ralph asked with a chuckle as they started moving towards the exit. _Oops. _"Did I say that out loud?" He winced as Taffyta and Rancis looked at him with knowing smiles. "What? I'm just thinking out loud.." _Do they know something about this?_

"Whatever you say, Ralph," Rancis said with a smirk as he patted him on the shoulder. _Well, we know what __**they**__ did at some point._

"Rancis, quit picking on him," Taffyta said with a wide grin, fighting the urge to talk about it. _We don't need everyone knowing that we did it either._

Felix(AR) cleared his throat nervously. _Jaminy.. Well good for them. It only took 3 weeks._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Secret's out, Ralph..


	111. Out on a Limb

Ralph, Vannie, Jet, Crumbelina, Taffyta, Rancis, Ralph(AR), Candice, and Felix(AR) slowly made their way into Sugar Rush, talking happily about nothing in particular along the way, simply getting each other up to speed on various goings on. The potential topic of Ralph and Vannie having made love was quickly swept under the rug for the sake of politeness.

Ralph(AR) and Candice thought the knowing smiles and comments were somehow out of place, but didn't quite get the joke and didn't say anything.

Ralph(AR) fell to the back of the group upon going into Sugar Rush, simply stating he didn't want to block the view. Despite never actually being in a Sugar Rush game personally, it was exactly as he remembered it from Ralph's memories.

"You okay, Ralph?" Candice asked Ralph(AR) softly, as she too hung to the back of the group, "Pretty much this whole time you've seemed like something was bothering you.." _I have a pretty good idea why, especially since Vannie planted the idea in my head._

"I'm fine," Ralph(AR) said, barely above a whisper, "It's nothing.." _This concerns you, but this is something I have to figure out on my own __first__.._

"Is it about Vannie and your counterpart by any chance?" Candice asked nervously, barely above a whisper, "I know it must be weird.." _Seeing them __up__ there talking so happily, her being so affectionate towards him.._

Ralph(AR) winced slightly. _Is it that obvious? Subtlety isn't my middle name.. I don't even __**have**__ a middle name. __I thought I was hiding it well enough though.._

"Nail on the head, huh.." Candice whispered with a frown. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. _I just have to __ask__.. I wish I were programmed to not be nervous like this. What if he says no? Would I be able to play it off like nothing happened? I don't know when I would be able to get him any more alone than this.. _"I may not be my sister, but i-if you're looking.." Her heart dropped. _I asked him. Sort of. __He's going to think I'm so weird, going after the counterpart of my sister's boyfriend.. Vannie, why'd you have to put the idea in my head in the first place?_

Ralph(AR) froze in his tracks. His heart practically stopped entirely for a few brief moments.

Candice stopped and gazed into his eyes nervously. _He stopped.. I don't know __if __that's __good or bad__. Ralph?.._

Ralph(AR) looked her in the eyes. Reflected in his was uncertainty, that nagging feeling that he would somehow find it impossible to truly love her the same way he had come to love Vannie, thanks to Ralph's memories. His heart was struggling to make sense of the sticky situation he'd found himself in. _I can't repeat what I- no, what __**he**__ did to Vannie when she asked __**him**__ out.. __Candice is__ throwing herself out on a limb here asking me __out__, and I would __in all likelihood__ say yes anyway __after thinking about it more__. __But_ _I want to be able to love her __**entirely**__, for __**her**__, who __**she**__ is.. I can't allow myself to use her as a replacement for Vannie.. _He took a deep, shaky breath and swallowed hard. "I-I'd like that," he whispered nervously as he lightly placed his hand on her upper back, "We can talk about it later.." _I'm not sure how, __but I'll make this work.._

Candice smiled and kept her eyes fixed to the ground as the two slowly began catching up to the mostly oblivious group. _That's a __**yes**__, right? _Her cheeks flushed and she practically glowed. _Yeah, talking about it later is probably best. I just hope he doesn't get bor__ed of me.. N__o, he's not like that. Or at least the one I know already isn't. They're not the same person exactly, but he was __based on__ the original.._

Their conversation didn't go entirely unnoticed, as Felix(AR) happened to be concentrating his hardest on his brother. Jet and Crumbelina also heard bits and pieces, being the closest after Felix(AR), but they didn't catch anything specific. They still got the gist of what was going on, however.

They finally arrived at the main track of Sugar Rush where the racers were all ready and waiting, talking amongst themselves excitedly.

"Ralph! Vannie! You guys are early for a change!" Vanellope said excitedly, "Woah! It's the **other** Ralph!.." She gasped. "Your hands!" She glitched over and inspected Ralph(AR)'s hands and arms intently, grabbing and rubbing his hands after he bent down to humor her. She paid no mind to his personal space at all, not that he seemed to care. "It's so different." She laughed and looked up at him with a mischievous grin. "I suppose I don't have to tell you who **I** am either. Since you've met two of three already." _I approve of you. __My Ralph is obviously better though, no offense. __You __can't__ get better than hero of President Vanellope von Schweetz.. and Sugar Rush, naturally._

Ralph(AR) smiled warmly and said, "Yeah, I know who you are.." _I may not be her father, or even __**surrogate**__ father, but surely I can __still __be __**friends**__ with __President Fart Feathers__.._

"Oh! There's my parents, gotta go!" Taffyta said excitedly as she ran over to Shanks and Taffy who were standing further along the track closer to the starting line, talking happily with little Taffyta.

Rancis chuckled to himself and walked over as well, with his hands in the pockets of his blazer. _You're cute, Taffyta. Beautiful, really. But the reaction itself is cute in addition to that._

Vanellope chuckled. _I'm __happy for you, Taffyta. __Both of you__.._ "So, new Ralph, what shall I call you?" _You don't stink, you don't seem like an idiot yet, your hands aren't huge. I'm out of ideas here for the moment._

"Ralph," Ralph(AR) said while rolling his eyes, "Just Ralph.. It's not that confusing, is it?" _No need for __some__'__fancy__'__ nickname.._

"Alright, 'Just Ralph'," Vanellope scoffed, "Well I'm glad you could make it. You too, Felix." _This Felix is tall. Well, __**almost**__ tall._

"Nice to meet you, Vanellope," Felix(AR) said with a chuckle. _I haven't met the Vanellope from our game yet, but she doesn't __need to __know that._

"So you guys just stand around at the track waiting until we get here?" Ralph asked while furrowing his brow. _You're still all here.._

"**Adoi**.." Vanellope said with an annoyed smile as she rolled her eyes slightly, "We want to go about our day as soon as possible, you know?" _It's not like we're just standing around though._

"Sorry," Vannie said with a smile, "We'll try to be earlier." _So long as Ralph and I have the room to ourselves when we're going to bed._

"We appreciate that," little Minty Zaki said with a smile and crossed arms while walking over with little Gloyd.

"Hey Gloyd," Ralph said wryly, "Did you know your dad came with Adrenaline Rush? Well, all of you guys' parents, really.." _Figured you guys would like to know in case you weren't told._

"Yeah, I heard from Vanellope," little Gloyd said wryly, "She tells me that even back then he was fascinated with zombies." _Anything of the occult, actually. He'd probably get along with Ash, now that I think about it. __That guy's a bit nuts himself._

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Candice said with a chuckle. _I'm glad Zombie has so many friends now._

"Alright, everybody," King Candy(1) said with an excited laugh over the loudspeaker, grabbing everyone's attention, "We can get our Random Roster Race underway now. So I would like to ask that everyone who is **not** a racer, please take a seat in the stands." _So that's the Ralph and Felix from Adrenaline Rush. Not quite what I expected, but it makes sense to change their scaling._

"Hey Jet. Hey Crumbelina, Ralph, etc.," Charley said with a smile as they all took seats.

"Having fun?" Jet asked with a smile. _Seems like it._

"Yep," Charley said with a nod. _Pretty much always am now._

"Oh, right," Jet said, "Before I forget. King Candy says he's finally getting around to making the restaurant and ice cream shop." _Remind me to tell the chefs, Crumbelina._

Crumbelina chuckled. _Don't forget to tell the chefs, Jet.._

The race began, with the group talking amongst themselves while watching.

"Actually, I'm not worried about that anymore," Charley said with a shrug, "The way I see it, if I started to run an ice cream shop, I'd have less time to hang out with Adorabeezle and the others. It would be nice and all, don't get me wrong.. But I think I'd rather spend time with friends than stay in one place handing out ice cream all day.. I'll just give out ice cream to anyone who comes asking for it." _I hope King Candy hasn't put any work into it yet.._

"Oh.. Okay, but are you **sure**?" Jet asked seriously, "I thought you wanted that pretty bad.." _It was agreed upon and everything.._

"Well yeah, I **did**," Charley said, "For a while at least. And then I actually had **friends** to spend time with. You can see how my priorities would shift, right?"_I__t's obvious __that's __what anyone would choose, __isn't it__?_

"We'll tell King Candy for you," Crumbelina said softly, "I'm sure he won't mind.."

"Thanks," Charley said sheepishly, "I was a little worried, thinking he might get mad.. I just hope he didn't start on it already."

"He'll understand," Vannie said warmly, "If he's put any work into it so far, it couldn't be much. I think he's starting with the chefs, though I couldn't tell you what makes me think that. It's just a guess.." _The chefs are still mad at Jet, so it only makes sense to appease them first. I imagine that they don't enjoy flipping burgers at Burger Time.._

After a few minutes the race was over, with Vanellope taking the win.

* * *

"Careful flying this thing, Garret," Jubileena said they flew over to Diet Cola Mountain on cruisiers with Leon and Minty. _You're trying to get me to hold on tighter, aren't you?_

"It's just the wind," Garret said with a smirk, "Would cotton candy clouds count as an ingredient? I mean, some things just seem more like foods or snacks in general. Chips.. How is that an ingredient, right? And then there's that Ramen Lake place.. I'm sure you could probably collect and sell the ramen from there somehow." _Although I'd like to just eat it right there. You can't get fresher than that._

"I don't know, maybe they used the word ingredient for the sake of convenience," Jubileena said while rolling her eyes, "It could be ingredients plus naturally-occurring foods and snacks. There's all sorts of **actual** ingredients like those giant mushrooms, and seasoning made from that bark, maybe finished products are the minority so they're not worth mentioning as something separate."

"Possibly, But I think for sure if it's collectible, we should go for whatever is hardest to collect," Garret said wryly, "You know. Anything hard to reach has got to be worth more thanks to rarity."

* * *

"So did you notice Vannie trying to set up the other Ralph with Candice?" Minty asked with a giggle. She tightly held onto Leon's waist as they flew towards Diet Cola Mountain with Garret and Jubileena.

"Yeah, I noticed," Leon said with a chuckle, "Hard not to. Vannie wasn't at all subtle about it. I thought that was the point." '_Here, don't go after me, go after her.' Something like that._

Minty giggled and said, "Yeah, I think it was probably something like that. He did look a little uncomfortable. Probably because the Vanellope he already knows is 8 years old. I think they could be a good match, if they go for it.."

"You think these cotton candy clouds are tradable?" Leon asked, "If they are, that's **got** to be worth something.."

"Let's just make sure we know how we're supposed to collect these things first," Minty said with a smile, "We don't even know if we're going to get these mentos correctly. It might need to be put in some kind of bag for all we know." _Like those chips and the bark earlier._

"Well we may be taking a risk, but it's not like this stuff goes bad," Leon said, "We could always just put it in whatever bag later. I guess it's not really an ingredient though, it's more like.. Well, a giant breath mint." _So in theory, collecting cotton candy clouds would work too, provided we do it right._

The four soon made it to the top of Diet Cola Mountain.

"So I guess we just pull them out?" Leon asked curiously as he slid his hands over a giant mentos. _It's smooth.._ He firmly placed both of his hands on opposite sides of it and pulled, breaking it loose with only minor difficulty.

"Easy enough," Garret said with a shrug. _I guess it really is that easy._

"Yeah," Leon said with a chuckle as he pulled out his backpack and tried shoving it inside. A humming barrier appeared at the opening, preventing the mentos from going inside. At the same time a dialogue box popped up above the backpack stating that a 'medium bag' is required, and that three were in the backpack. _Well that only somewhat complicates things._

"I guess we do need bags then.." Jubileena said, "The backpacks have 3 in them apparently though, so with the four of us we still have enough." _I guess there's a supply shop for the bags or something._

"Alright everyone," Garret said, "Get your bags out, I guess." _We'll need everyone's bags for this. Two to spare after that._

They quickly and methodically grabbed nine more mentos and put them in the bags, putting them into Leon's backpack before deciding to use the last two bags they had to collect two more for later.

"Easy," Minty said happily, "I guess we should go to Tapper's now to wait for the others." _Rootbeer, yay! I haven't had any in over a week._

The four made their way to Tapper's to wait for Ralph and company.

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's a good thing they don't have to worry about germs, touching things with their bare hands and walking over them. Felix and Calhoun will be in the next chapter. Maybe Brad and Calhoun(AR) as well.


	112. Tough Decision to Make

Felix hopped into Hero's Duty as soon as he could, as usual.

"Hey Tammy," Felix said cheerfully before he allowed himself to become serious, "Turbo Time is coming back after all. I don't know if you heard with this game's loud volume.." _It's quiet now, but during game time.._

"Nah, couldn't hear a thing," Calhoun said while blowing her hair out of her eye, "You up for some Adrenaline Rush? In that case I think we should go talk to Rio and Satoru." She turned the switch she added to her radio to switch outfits to her white button up shirt and jeans. _Haven't worn this one in a while._

"Good idea," Felix said with a smile as Calhoun grabbed her cruiser from the armory and the two headed for the train out of Hero's Duty, "Ralph was furious, as you could imagine." _Me getting some new outfit can wait._

"Yes, but I can't really blame him," Calhoun said while shaking her head as the two sat down on the train. _Not with his per__sonality coupled with what Turbo Time characters have done to this arcade in the past._

Felix leaned into Calhoun, wrapping a small arm around her back. He sighed a satisfied sigh and grinned up at her. "It'll be fine though," he said, "We know it's coming, and there has to be more than just a few ways to keep things under control." _I suppose we should get ourselves some of those Adrenaline Rush cards so we can get ourselves a nice meal.._

"I'm sure Queen Lemma will have a meal prepared," Calhoun scoffed as she draped an arm over Felix's shoulder. _We __**should**__ get some of those cards though. It'll be nice to get ourselves some of whatever kind of equipment they've got. Markowski and Spears have these backpacks that seemingly pop in and out of another dimension. Although I guess that's how our inventories work in the first place.. Where my Multi-Mode Rifle goes? Who knows?  
_

The two casually made their way out of Hero's Duty's gateway and headed towards the monorail that goes through the walls all the way to Game Station East.

"H-hey Tammy," a small girl angel said nervously as she approached, "Hey Felix.."

"Eliza.." Calhoun said with a smirk as she stopped, crossed her arms and shifted her stance, "How's your day been so far, kid?" _Caught by a 'fan'. Alright, camera man, where are you?_

"It's been good so far," Eliza said and giggled nervously. _She remembers my name. _"A-anyways, I know you must be busy. I just wanted to say hey."

"Alright, see ya later," Calhoun said waving as the child ran off to her small angel brother, who was waiting patiently. _Maybe him? I can check the paper later if the angle matches up.. I swear there must be more than one._

"You're quite popular," Felix said with a grin. _Can I have your autograph?_

"It's all so funny to you, isn't it Mr. Fanclub-Member-2.." Calhoun scoffed. _It's outrageous that you thought you could keep that a secret._

"Well **excuse** me for loving my wife in all her glory," Felix said almost dramatically, in a teasing tone, "I told you it'd be fine, and see? It's fine.." _And since I'm a member of the fanclub, you can get all the __pictures you want to help pin down whoever is taking them. It's a win/win._

"Right," Calhoun said, not totally convinced, "Well, let's go. I'm sure they must know by now, but all the same.."

They made their way into Adrenaline Rush and used Calhoun's cruiser to get to the castle, passing over several popular low level 'farming' locations, as the gamers called them.

* * *

"Alright, where are you?" Calhoun(AR) asked herself as she walked through the town of Bramble in Adrenaline Rush, looking at her sensor, "I swear if that man has me looking much longer than this.. Did he go to Hero's Duty?" _For someone who's meant to be in this game, he certainly is hard to find. Easter egg character, hah! How am I supposed to find this joker?_

"Looking for someone, Tams?" Brad asked warmly as he slowly approached from behind. _I doubt your sensor would work on me, since I'm from Adrenaline Rush.. __An o__versight, I'm sure._

Calhoun(AR) softly clenched a fist before putting her sensor away and turned to face him, crossing her arms in the process. "Brad," she said in a knowing tone, "If you knew I was looking for you, why didn't you say something sooner?" _Be nice. You need to decide. He's certainly handsome.. But then Felix has that innocent charm to him, this is more.. 'Mr. Perfect'._

"I just got here," Brad said softly, "I was looking for you too."_ What should I say to her? She doesn't exactly look smitten. Then again I don't recall how we first started going out either. I wish I had more memories of us.._ "I'm at a bit of a loss for words, to be honest." He chuckled to himself. _It doesn't really help that we're going back to square one._

"I never really was one for emotional reunions, so that's fine," Calhoun(AR) said with a smirk before she turned serious again. _Felix I know is heartbroken. Although that's mostly due to him having memories of my original and his counterpart being married. But Brad seems to be taking it well. Who would I really hurt more by staying with the other? _"I'll be up front with you, Brad.." She lightly scratched her forehead and sighed. "I don't know about us." _I d__on't want to hurt either of them, they're both really nice guys.._

"Ouch.." Brad said as he winced at her words, "I sort of expected that, but it still hurts, Tams.." _There has to be something I can do. _"Why don't we have dinner and see if that changes your mind?" _Maybe we can talk this out.._

"I'm not going to let you pay for my meal," Calhoun(AR) said wryly. _I shouldn't be smiling right now, someone's heart is going to shatter before the day is through._ "But alright, we'll give it a try. I've already had coffee with the Felix from this game. It's only fair." She turned serious again.

Brad frowned and worriedly asked, "There's a Felix in this game too?" _I don't want to lose you, Tams.. I think I'm fighting a losing battle though, __if there's another Felix, and then you also had coffee with him.__._

Calhoun(AR) sighed, briefly resting her armored palm against her forehead and said, "Yes.. And through **some** strange game quirk, his memories got befuddled with the memories of my original's husband.. I hate to say this, but I don't know **who** I want to be with yet. I hope you understand what I'm going through here.." _S__omeone help me out here.._

"I-I understand, of course.." Brad said solemnly, "But you **are** at least giving me a chance, right?" _If there's any way I can help you understand the way I feel about you.._

"Well of **course**, I am," Calhoun(AR) said with a sigh a she gently shook her head, "I'm not heartless, you know? I'll even admit I have feelings for you. But Felix is just so.. so.." She sighed again. "He's just so adorable and.. Look, I don't **like** comparing the two of you against each other like this, but I **have** to if I'm going to make a choice.." _This is a __**fine**__ mess she's put me in. _"Do you have a place in mind?" _It's better than just standing around out here._

"Well, not exactly," Brad said regrettably, "I went to Hero's Duty as soon as I finally got answers out of Satoru yesterday. After that I just spoke with Kohut, Loya, and Marco in the Mess Hall." _Until the arcade opened. I wouldn't have been able to sleep, __so I just stayed there waiting__.._

"Oh yeah? Answers about what?" Calhoun(AR) asked sincerely, "And I imagine you must have met my original as well?" _Did you meet her before coming find me? Actually, that only makes sense, since he was looking for me in __**this**__ game __rather than going back to Hero's Duty again__._

"The reason I'm here, and in general just things I've missed since dying.." Brad said uncomfortably, "Well, at least **I** don't have to worry about dying.. Your original got to Hero's Duty later when the arcade was about to open, I didn't have much time to talk with her." _I'm assuming she was with Felix until then.._

"How was she?" Calhoun(AR) asked, "I haven't met her myself." _So you sought **me** out __after__ finding __**her**__ unavailable. I can't really blame you for that though. You were programmed to love __'__me__'__, and I was programmed to love __**you** because of the fact that she's taken__. And a near identical copy is 'nearly identical'. Even Felix only loves me because of __**her**__.. This complicates things. __He **died **__though__? Well I guess that's what happened to make him disappear._

"About the same as you," Brad said as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Her hair was different.." _These questions are innocent enough, but it feels like I'm literally on fire here.. Am I making a fool of myself? I should have known of a place to eat.._

"I see," Calhoun(AR) said with a nod, "So how did you die? She kept that from me.." _I was actually asking how she was doing, but okay.._ _I'd like some kind of explanation __for __his death though__._

"It was kept from me until your ori- can we stop saying your original?" Brad asked softly, "**Tamora** told me how I died. I was eaten by a Cy-bug at her and my wedding.." _Although I guess it wasn't really _**_my_**_ wedding. Tams, you're making this hard on me.._

"Well I appreciate the fact that neither one of us have a memory of **that** happening.." Calhoun(AR) said, "Come on, I'm sure it can't be too hard to find a place to eat around here. I'd rather we not stand around out here like idiots." _I just don't know.. I thought I was programmed to be able to decide, but right now? It doesn't seem like that's the case. __Why am I finding it so hard?_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Next chapter should have Ralph, Vannie, and the others again.


	113. Crowding Up Tapper's

"Before anything else," Taffyta said sweetly, with a grin, "Guys, this is my mom, Taffy. And this is my dad, Shanks. They came with Adrenaline Rush."

"It's nice to meet you," Vannie said with a grin, "I'm Vannie, this is **my** Ralph, and this is Candice. I think you know Jet and Crumbelina already.. Taffyta was worried sick that you might not be coming with Adrenaline Rush." _I'm __happy for you Taffyta. And Taffyta too, naturally__._

"Vannie!" Taffyta said pleadingly._ Don't do that, please?_

"And I'm Charley," Charley said, mostly to point out he was there too, "And this is Adorabeezle."

"Hey," little Adorabeezle said with a smile. _I wonder where Minty Zaki and Snowanna ran off to. Although I guess it's not such a big mystery.  
_

Shanks chuckled and softly said, "It's nice to meet ya'll.. And well, I reckon it's only natural under the circumstances, to be worried about something like that." _Never meeting me, y__e__r mother usually away on business or visiting me.._

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," Taffy said warmly. _We're here to stay, you know? No reason to be ashamed of __having __miss__ed__ us.._

"So, Shanks. What do you do in Adrenaline Rush?" Ralph asked curiously. _You seem like the player __avata__r type. _Vannie leaned into him, wrapping her arm around his back. _You love to distract me don't you, Vannie?_

"I'm the lead character in the game mode 'Gourmet Hunter'," Shanks said proudly, "To keep it short, I gather ingredients and other food items on randomly generated 'missions'. I get paid based on speed and the like. 'Course there's also freelancin'. Gatherin' whatever the player feels like." _If there's anything you wanna know, all ya gotta do is ask._

"What all is there to buy?" Ralph asked curiously, "I'm guessing that since there's wild beasts and all, there must be weapons and other sorts of things like that, right?" _How about this, Vannie?_ _I suppose in addition to training, if we __ever__ get around to it, we could get you some sort of weapon to carry around. It'd be useful in case these new Turbo Time characters decide to go Turbo despite whatever precautions we make.._

Vannie looked at Ralph then back to Shanks. _Sounds like a good idea. I still say it'd be faster and easier to just have the training coded in. But since you're so worried about something going wrong, I'll roll with it.._

"Yep, there sure is," Shanks said with a smile. _This man speaks my language._

"Now you've got him started," Taffy said while rolling her eyes playfully as she shook her head. _He knows his stuff. Be prepared to be bombarded with information.._

"Well, let me finish," Shanks said wryly, "There's yer **basic** weapons, of course. But since I level up in strength as the player does missions and the like, there's higher tiers of weapons that do more damage, have more accuracy, things like that. Armor too. It all works based on 'enchantments', fer lack of a better word, being a magic infused area and all." _I__'m tempted to tell 'em about somethin' else they could buy, but I think I'll save it fer later. The guys might appreciate knowin'._

"Is there some place we can find a listing of all the merchandise?" Jet asked curiously, "Also things like ingredient and food item rankings and value."

"Well first, this is sort of related, have ya got a backpack yet?" Shanks asked, to which Jet and Crumbelina nodded, "They come with a starter's manual and map that gets mapped out as you explore, as well as recommended level for those areas. The levels won't do too much good for you guys, really, but you can still use it to gauge the difficulty of an area. I'm goin' off on a tangent.. To answer your question, yeah there's somethin' fer that. You can buy a phone, not that expensive. It's got apps fer keepin' track of ingredient and equipment value." _I just figured ya'll oughta know about the backpacks.. The manual explains some of this too._

"**Finally** a game with phones," little Adorabeezle said, "..What?" _Phones are useful, okay?_

"Nothing," Jet said wryly, then turned his attention back to Shanks and Taffy, "We're going to Tapper's. Would you guys like to come with us?" _I feel sort of bad, borrowing Ralph's 'leader' status here. At least that's how he usually is.. I'd really like to have a few drinks though. I need them, with the news we were blasted with earlier.. Oh, __**hooray**__. Turbo Time is coming back.._

"Tapper's.." Shanks said while cocking a brow, "Sounds like a bar."

"It serves root beer," Taffyta said with a smile, "I think it's probably the best drink in the arcade, even now after your game got plugged in." _It certainly helped while waiting for Adrenaline Rush.._

"Well, I think that's a **bit** premature to say," Shanks said with a chuckle, "But alright, that sounds nice."

"Phew, made it before you guys left this time," Ash said, somewhat out of breath, having only just arrived.

"I don't know why you're so out of breath," Gary said while shaking his head. _It wasn't that far of a run._

"Glad you could make it," Vanellope said with a smirk. _I guess we probably did kind of leave you guys out yesterday.. Sorry about that. It just sort of happened._

After a brief round of introductions they finally headed to Tapper's.

* * *

"I guess we got here first.." Garret said as he, Jubileena, Leon, and Minty entered Tapper's, "You know, I think we're going to need a **lot** more stools.." _I just have that feeling. __We'll take up at least two counters, I'm sure.._

"I hear ya," Tapper said as he slid root beers to Emi and Luke, "I'll set some out in a moment." _I don't know how many they'll need __**this**__ time.. They certainly know how to pull in a crowd._

Luke thanked Tapper then took a sip of root beer before turning his attention back to Emi, happily talking about nothing of note.

The four took their seats at the back counter as Tapper began plopping down several more stools.

A tall young man, seemingly in his early 20s, sat down a table away, facing their way. He hummed to himself happily, fully aware of his surroundings while sipping away at his drink. _Today will be terrific. __I can hardly wait. _He had medium-short, messy black hair and wore a white suit with the collar popped up.

A few uneventful minutes passed and Ralph, Vannie, Vanellope, Jet, Crumbelina, Rancis, Taffyta, Ralph(AR), Candice, Shanks, Taffy, little Rancis, little Taffyta, Felix(AR), Ash and Gary arrived. Charley and little Adorabeezle stayed behind in Sugar Rush to play with the other little racers.

"Quite a crowd today," the young man said in a playfully teasing tone, "Hey Tapper, I think you'll need more stools than that."

"Seems like it," Ralph said, "Sorry, I forgot your name.." _I don't see you that often so it never sticks._

"**Terrance**, Ralph," the man said with a chuckle, "It's Terrance." _I don't see how you could forget._

* * *

"Tamora, Felix," Queen Lemma said warmly as the two entered the throne room of Adrenaline Rush's castle, "It's good to see you again."

"Tammy! Felix!" Vanellope(AR) said excitedly, "Where's Vannie, Vanellope, and Ralph?" _I wanted to see __**them**__ more, no offense.. It stinks, being stuck in this castle all the time. Just until it's safe though, they promised!_

"Well I'm glad to see things are going well here," Calhoun said with a smile, "I'm guessing Penelope and Vincent are out and about?"

"You guessed it," Vanellope(AR) said while rolling her eyes, "At least I didn't have to take a nap today. I'm not **that** young." She gave Calhoun a hug. _They'll be back later though. I guess I should give Felix a hug too. _She hugged Felix. _Well, it's not so bad._

Felix chuckled. _You wouldn't catch __**our**__ Vanellope being __this openly __affectionate._

"It's about Turbo Time," Calhoun said seriously with a sigh, "Litwak decided to get it again after all."_ It's one of the __**last**__ things this arcade needs.._

"Is that so?" Queen Lemma asked with a disappointed sigh, "Well, I suppose that we should inform Satoru and Rio. _They've been cooped up in the code room all day. Poor Ralph and Felix had to go through so much headache.._

They made their way to the code room and broke the news.

"So how do you think we should handle this?" Satoru asked, "I have a few ideas, but.." _I honestly don't know which would be more appropriate. Give me something to start with.._

"Well for one thing," Calhoun said with a sigh as she crossed her arms, "Turbo and Set's memories in the various games they've been to will be a problem." _I say we delete them._

"Deleting them could be a problem in **some** games," Felix said disappointedly, "You know how dangerous it is to let someone into your code room." _We're different, in this case, of course._

"We could probably get the surge protectors to help out on that," Calhoun said, "I'm sure people would listen to them more than us." _Some games we don't even have to worry about since their memories would have been wiped when the games were unplugged to get moved. And I already deleted Set's memory in __**my**__ game. His inactive file he left behind when he died too._

"**Should** we do anything aside from that?" Rio asked, "Would it even be necessary? If anything I think **they** would need protection.." _They're a mischievous bunch, to be sure, but they're not evil.. They were never **meant** to be evil._

"You have a point, of course," Calhoun said plainly while her hair out of her eyes, "But it could be difficult, getting them to understand the situation they're in. If someone came to me and said **I **was evil in a previous incarnation of **my** game.. I imagine I wouldn't take too kindly to that."

"I'm sure we have time to think about this," Satoru said as he continued working on the game, "Litwak only affirmed he would get the game today, correct?" _Order processing and delivery takes time.._

"Right," Felix said, "I imagine it will take at the very least a few days or maybe even over a week to get here."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Terrance's outfit is meant to be one of John Travolta's from Saturday Night Fever.


	114. Terrance - Stayin' Alive!

"What about Jet?" Rio asked softy, "Will we have to worry about him merging with the Jet who's coming with Turbo Time?"

"No, that won't be a problem," Calhoun said confidently, "King Candy changed his name weeks ago." _The __morning after __Sugar Rush 2 got plugged in, __in fact__._

"Can't you just ask those Turbo Time guys if you could change their names?" Vanellope(AR) asked, "If you explain it to them they might let you.." _If they're supposed to be reasonable, __unlike the first batch.._

"In a perfect world that would be easy," Calhoun said softly, "But we can't count on just that." _It would be nice if it were that easy._ "So I guess it's pretty much decided then. But what are you having trouble with in regards to making this game safe for visitors?" _I may not be based on a __game __developer, but I __**have**__ been coding in my spare time. I've got more experience with coding on the inside __than he does__._

"It's not so much trouble," Satoru said with a sigh, "I think it'll work, but the only problem is testing it. Because to test it, someone from outside of the game would have to die.."

"Yeah, count me out.." Calhoun said dryly, "Good luck finding someone willing to die to test something like that." _And Felix, don't you dare._

"Well it's not like we can't just reactivate the person's file afterward if it doesn't work," Satoru said reassuringly, "Have you guys been leaving people dead? As long as their **file** is in tact, whether it's in its native game or not, it can be reactivated good as new." _The problem would be making it to the code room to reactivate it. But that's no problem __**here**__.._

* * *

"So tell me, Ralph," Terrance said with a grin, "What do **you** think of the news that Turbo Time is coming back to the arcade?"

Several patrons did spit-takes, unaware of the fact Turbo Time was indeed coming back.

"**I** think it's terrific," Terrance said with a laugh, "No offense, but it was livelier back when Turbo Time was plugged in. I certainly missed the Turbo from **before** he went Turbo."

Ralph clenched his fists. _Now I remember why I don't like this guy._ He took a gulp of his root beer. _He's just spouting nonsense, calm down.. __We're handling the situation. There's nothing to worry about._

Vannie rubbed his back knowingly. _It's okay. I don't know what's up with this guy, but just leave him be._

"Look, buster. I don't think you want to continue this subject," Vanellope said in an annoyed tone while glaring at Terrance from her seat, "**Nobody** with their head on straight would want that guy back." _I never did like you __either__.. What game are you even from?  
_

"But he was such a fun person until RoadBlasters came around," Terrance said insistently, "Just ask any Good Guy who remembers back then. Luke, **you** remember Turbo, don't you?"

"Yeah, I **also** remember what he did to Turbo Time, RoadBlasters, and Sugar Rush," Luke said while looking Terrance over in suspicion, "What are you getting at?" _Don't expect __**me**__ to defend that guy._

"All I'm saying is that we can have those days back," Terrance said excitedly, "What was it he always used to say?" He laughed. "Oh yes, I remember now.. Turbo-tastic!" He mimicked Turbo's thumbs up pose and voice.

Vanellope shuddered. _There's something wrong with this guy. I hope I'm wrong, __but__.. _"I've heard enough," she said angrily as she glitched out of her seat near Ralph and over to Terrance. _Here goes.__._ Her heart nearly stopped as she swiftly and tightly grabbed his arm and glitched in place as hard as she could.

Terrance involuntarily glitched along with Vanellope into the same soft blue colored code. He suddenly grinned a toothy grin as his appearance glitched out of his white suit and black, messy hair. "Very clever, **Vanellope**. I was hoping someone would catch on." He had that old familiar grey skin, with yellow teeth and eyes. He was wearing a white racing helmet with a red T on it and a white racing jumpsuit, but unlike when they last saw him, he remained tall.

Vanellope's blood ran cold. _Turbo.._

After the initial shock which lasted only a few seconds, in the very instant that Vanellope glitched back to the safety of Ralph and Vannie's side, several things happened all at once.

Tapper dropped an empty mug he was cleaning. Ralph and Ralph(AR) practically knocked over the counter as they simultaneously stood up in an effort to make their way over to Turbo. Jet and Luke both used their force abilities to hold Turbo in place. Leon and Garret pulled out their pistols and aimed them at Turbo.

"Guys, guys," 'Terrance' said with a laugh, "Let's be **reasonable** here." He effortlessly glitched out of his invisible binds and glitched his appearance back to his white suit, normal skin, and hair. "Honestly.."

Ralph furiously jumped over the counter and grabbed Terrance, slamming him against a tapped keg of root beer on the wall. "I don't know **how** you're alive-" _Did he make himself a glitch too?_

Ralph froze in confusion, even though he half expected it, when Terrance glitched back into his seat unharmed.

Leon and Garret both shot him, doing no damage, though the shots definitely hit. "Seriously?" Leon asked somewhat distressedly. _This isn't good. Be careful, Minty.._

"I would like-" Terrance said with a grin before getting cut off by Ralph(AR) punching him, knocking him into the wall next to Ralph. He got up and dusted himself off, again having taken no damage.

He glitched, fixing his outfit back to peak condition then leaned against the wall. He sighed and said, "Listen, I just want to talk to you." He grinned again.

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say," Ralph said in a threatening tone as he practically loomed over the ex-racer. _How can we stop him? Someone needs to get the surge protectors.._

Vannie snuck out while Terrance was pre-occupied. _On it.. __Just keep him talking or otherwise busy._

"Well how about this? Are you interested in **this**?" Terrance asked with a grin as he held up a severely damaged gold medal that had HERO written across it in large letters. It had a blue torn ribbon. _You remember this, don't you?_

"My medal.." Ralph said in disbelief, still furious at his inability to even scratch the enemy in front of him. But he knew that anything he tried would be useless. "How did you?.." _That was in my game! But then.._

"It doesn't matter," Terrance said with a grin, "It's yours. Go ahead, take it." He chuckled. "All I ask is that you hear me out."

"You're not going to fool me again," Ralph said said as he tossed the medal behind him and pointed at Terrance, "You're a threat to this entire arcade. Where have you been all this time? Whose **life** are you ruining now?!" _Calm down, you have to keep him talking._ He clenched his fists tightly in frustration.

"Oh, this?" Terrance said with a laugh, "This is just a new appearance I made for myself after my little shower at Diet Cola Mountain. Nothing too extravagant, but it's better than what I had before. You can give King Candy his napkin back, by the way. I don't need it anymore." He winked as he handed Ralph the napkin with the Konami code written on it. _Although __**he**__ doesn't need it either._

Several uncomfortable, incredulous looks were passed all around as the scene unfolded.

"Now, as for what I've been waiting all this time for," Terrance said with a laugh, "As you can about guess, I've had **plenty** of chances to wreak as much havoc as my heart desired. But you know what, Ralph? I **didn't**. In fact I've been living in **Tartarga** all this time. What I'm after is-"

"We're **not** going to forgive you," Vanellope said angrily, feeling slightly more brave. _Who in their right mind would? I actually touched this guy's arm. _She shuddered subtly and fought the feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her to run.

"Well, **Vanellope**," Terrance said with a grin, "I suppose it's fortunate for me that I don't need your forgiveness. Tell me, how are things in Sugar Rush?"

Ralph slammed his fist down on Terrance's head, knocking him onto the floor. _I know it probably won't do any good, but.._

"Oh, Ralph," Terrance said with a chuckle as he stood back up, "I've shed my old identity almost completely, you know. This new Turbo who will be joining the arcade can **have** it for all I care. It's quite liberating, being free of all attachments I had to Turbo Time, and even Sugar Rush. Having nigh unlimited power thanks to watching you guys program Candice is also **very** refreshing." _It's quite simple. Far easier than what I'd been doing._

Candice shrank in her seat._ It's not my fault, is it? No one will blame __**me**__ for this, will they?_

Ralph glared at Terrance contemplatively. _What exactly is he saying? He's trying to pull one over on me __somehow__.._

"I **can** take over any game I want," Terrance said warmly while casually waving a hand around, "I should **thank** you, but it'd be more fun to-"

* * *

**Author's Note: **What do you make of Terrance?


	115. Litwak, Party of Two

At a few minutes to 11:30pm, Litwak drove up to 'Dufresne's' in his small maroon car. It was the family restaurant he gave Rio directions to. He had wisely changed out of his work outfit and into something more suitable for such an occasion. He wore a long-sleeved, white button up shirt, covered by a dark grey dress coat, and matching grey slacks. It was nothing fancy of course. Litwak didn't have much fashion sense, but it was presentable, he figured. _She is likely wearing something at least as good as the suit she wore earlier. I see no reason why she would have changed. I'm fairly certain it's all just in my head that she's showing interest in some __old __arcade owner. __I haven't even felt this way about someone in.. I suppose it's been over a decade by now._

Litwak sighed, tapping on his steering wheel. "I suppose I should get out and wait by the doors," he said to himself. _She would likely wait to see if I show up before getting out of her car, if she comes at all. Well no, she'll at least show up, I'm certain._ He got out of his car and locked it before strolling to the entrance of the fake stone-bricked restaurant.

He waited no longer than two minutes before Rio drove up in an expensive black car.

"Glad you could make it," Litwak said warmly as Rio approached him and the doors, "I was hoping the directions were clear enough."

"The directions were quite clear," Rio said with a soft smile and nod, "Well, after you." She politely gestured at the doors.

"Normally I would insist otherwise," Litwak said with a chuckle, "But alright, just this once." He went inside and held the door open as she followed him in.

They were escorted to one of many free tables. Not many other guests were there, as late in the night as it was. They placed their orders and talked while waiting.

"So Mr. Litwak," Rio said warmly, "How long have you been running your arcade for?"

"30 and a half years now, I suppose," Litwak said with a chuckle, "I had a lot of the classics back then.. Pong, Space Invaders, Centipede.. And of **course**, Turbo Time and Fix-It Felix Jr.. Fix-It Felix Jr. remains one of my favorites to this day." _Although it's been a long while since I've actually played it. I wonder why that is.._

"Turbo Time and Fix-It Felix Jr. were our first two games," Rio said warmly before her face grew slightly concerned, "..I suppose you're wondering about why exactly Turbo Time acted the way it did, with Turbo showing up in another game that was broken.." _I suppose I should gauge his reaction to the idea first. He likely won't believe it._

"I would be lying if I said otherwise," Litwak said, "So what exactly happened?" _There's actually an explanation for it?_

"Hypothetically speaking.. What would you say if I told you that game characters really are alive, and live their own lives when nobody is around?" Rio asked as she fidgeted with her hands on the table. _That's not really gauging his reaction at all.. That's outright telling him, isn't it? Well, one way or another it was bound to come out. He __**has**__ to have noticed at least something else in the 30 and a half years he's been running his arcade._

Litwak looked at her contemplatively, trying to decide what to make of that question. "I'd probably say you're about as cuckoo as I am," he said with a chuckle and a sigh in a somewhat disbelieving tone. _That __**can't**__ be possible though._

"It's the truth though," Rio said nervously in a hushed tone, "Fix-It Felix Jr. doesn't originally have a bonus level.. We couldn't have gotten the rights to Q*bert back then, because his game didn't even exist yet when Fix-It Felix Jr. came out." _If this doesn't give you __**some**__ level of proof.._

"But.." Litwak said confusedly, "That can't be right. How?" _That is true though.. Q*bert came out December 31__st__ of that year, 1982. And that bonus level is relatively new as well. I never once saw it while playing it personally. I just never questioned the company about it since it brought more players to it.._

"Shh.." Rio said softly as she looked around, though nobody seemed to be paying attention, "I don't completely get it either. That's just how it is.."

Litwak scrunched his face slightly in thought. _But all these years.._ "**If**.. If what you're saying is true, then what about all of the games I've had to unplug over the years? Have I been committing murder?" _That's a scary thought.. __Pixelated or otherwise, i__f I really __**have**__ been putting people__ out to pasture.._

"Not necessarily," Rio said solemnly, "Like with the Q*bert characters, they can find new homes. I don't think that you could or **should** be blamed for being forced to unplug games that no longer work. The games were broken.. Any character that could leave, left when they knew their game was getting unplugged." _A__t the last possible moment, I would imagine._

"So Turbo Time.." Litwak said softly with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. _Turbo was different somehow? Was he evil?_

"He was programmed under the idea that he was arrogant, intensely attention-seeking, and above all, he **hates** competition that can show him up, considering himself to be the 'greatest racer ever'.. It's the feeling I got from looking at the concept art we started with," Rio said solemnly, "Somehow, the idea stuck to his character in the game.." _I'm still not certain how to prevent something like that from ever happening again, but all of the 'Turbo Time: 15__th__ anniversary editions' we've managed to sell have managed to stay put just fine._

"So Turbo went nuts and ruined RoadBlasters personally when he began losing players to it, his main source of attention.." Litwak said, still trying to wrap his head around the idea. _It's __**impossible**__, but at the same time, it all fits.. I unplugged both games at the same time, so he wouldn't have had time to go back to Turbo Time like nothing happened..  
_

"That was often the case," Rio said softly with a slow, single nod, "But in other cases, it was the twins who did it after Turbo simply went missing."

"And you're having me buy it again," Litwak said. _You **swear**__it won't happen again?_

"Not a single one so far has gone rogue," Rio said reassuringly, "The problem was fixed." _Whatever we did while adding to the original fixed it.._ "And since you have Adrenaline Rush in your arcade, there's another layer of protection as it was finished after I found all this out. Sugar Rush 2 is the same, to a lesser extent. I didn't have as much time to change anything in that one." _It was a bit of a patch job since I couldn't push the release date for just any reason._

"You worked on both simultaneously?" Litwak asked disbelievingly. _It takes **years**__ to develop a game on that scale, even with a team. __And how would having those games help? Is that what was with all the discounts?_

"W-well, my deceased husband was originally heading the team for Adrenaline Rush.." Rio said somberly, "He didn't take the revelation nearly as well as you're taking it. He had a heart attack when Queen Lemma talked to him and died a few days later after telling me about it.." _And_ _I couldn't go on without 'him' being with me.._

"I'm sorry for your loss," Litwak said somberly, "I didn't realize.." _Is that what I've been sensing about her?_

"It's okay," Rio said with a somber smile, "I'm okay.." _You really are a nice guy.._

"O-okay.." Litwak said somberly with a sigh. _I won't push that subject._ "I just can't fully wrap my head around this. It all makes sense on the surface, but.. I just don't get **how** it could happen. Wouldn't people notice more often?" _I thought I was cuckoo for decades now.._

"All they have to do is follow the instructions in their code," Rio said softly, "There are times, however, when they're caught off guard. Normally though, if you blink, you'll miss it." _Queen Lemma herself doesn't know why she spoke to Satoru.._

"Sugar Rush 2 and Adrenaline Rush.." Litwak said curiously, "How would they help?" _I'm at a loss here.._

"It may sound sort of silly to you," Rio said seriously with a hint of embarrassment, "But I programmed my deceased husband and myself into Adrenaline Rush when I took over that project, and Sugar Rush 2's King Candy was in part programmed under the idea that he knows how to program, and that he always does what he can to do the most good." _While trying to do the least harm.. _"They fix issues from the inside as best they can."

"I see.." Litwak said contemplatively, "So if I were to walk into my arcade and chat the game characters up.." _Which I'll admit I do from time to time already. Just never in the 'I know you're alive.' sense._

"They'd likely ignore you as best they can," Rio said with a small chuckle, "It would lead to all sorts of awkward topics for them, I'm sure. Games that have been unplugged, things they've seen people do and were forced to sit through, pretending nothing happened.."

"Is there a way I could get them to **not** ignore me?" Litwak asked with a chuckle, "If I've gone cuckoo, I may as well go at it full tilt.." _I hope this isn't some twisted joke. She seems so sincere about all this.. But this would be secret of the century right here, and she's telling __**me**__?__.._

* * *

"Well it's not like we can't just reactivate the person's file afterward if it doesn't work," Satoru said reassuringly, "Have you guys been leaving people dead? As long as their **file** is in tact, whether it's in its native game or not, it can be reactivated good as new." _The problem would be making it to the code room to reactivate it. But that's no problem **here**.._

"Yeah, so long as whoever gets killed doesn't have their file **deleted** before they can be brought back," Calhoun said dryly. _Of course in __**that**__ case, killing the person first isn't even necessary._

"And then of course there's the issue of whether or not the person's file has a password on it that no one knows," Felix said grimly. _Passwords are a double-edged sword._

"Yes, there's also that.." Calhoun said dryly, "So tell me more about what exactly it is you're doing to make the game safe. Not that I'll let you kill us to test it.. **If** it doesn't work, then you can fix it in the event that someone actually dies." _I see no reason to test it now if the result will be the same in the long run.  
_

"Well, I've made an item that you would wear while in the game," Satoru said, "Rather than dying, you would simply respawn in the nearest safe location, fully healed. It wouldn't work in other games though, since it makes use of terrain and other variables only present in Adrenaline Rush."

"I see," Calhoun said while nodding, "Something like that would work, I suppose. Naturally something like that could be done in other games as well, with the right information." _I guess he wasn't based on a developer for nothing._

* * *

"I **can** take over any game I want," Terrance said warmly while casually waving a hand around, "I should **thank** you, but it'd be more fun to just fight you again." A force field was erected around him. "..Terrific." Terrance rolled his eyes in disappointment as he casually felt the edges of the force field. He attempted to glitch out, but was unable. _No good, huh?_

"Thanks, Ashley," Ralph said with a relieved sigh as he sat in the closest stool he could find, "And thank **you**, Vannie." He smiled. _You really came through._

"Yes, yes, this is all so **very** amusing," Terrance said with a sigh, "I've had **countless** chances to take over any game I want, you know? I **just** said that a moment ago. It would have been quite simple, too."

"We **know** you're not suddenly a good person now, but I'll ask you anyway," Jet said nervously while glaring at Terrance, "Why **didn't** you take over another game?" _I just can't figure this out even after patiently listening to him talk.. __And f__or all I know he could be lying about that._

"Now, Jet," Terrance said with a chuckle, "Honestly, what point would there have been in that? Truth be told, the moment I was fighting Ralph above Diet Cola Mountain was the moment everything suddenly made sense. I'm at my best when I am **myself**, appearance notwithstanding of course." _I n__ever did like __th__e grey skin__._ "Anyway, I'd **love** to stay and chat, but I fear I may have overstayed my welcome here." He waved goodbye then glitched and seemingly disappeared.

"W-what?!" Ashley asked frantically, "He shouldn't be able to do that!" _It's supposed to quarantine code __**completely**__!_ She reluctantly dropped her force field and walked into the place he was standing.

"Ralph, don't worry so much," Terrance said with a laugh as his seemingly disembodied voice echoed throughout the room, "Let's just have a match soon. It's been too long since our last. I'll set something up in **Tartarga** in a few days. Please do attend at the appointed time."

Vanellope shrieked and cringed when she felt something unseen brush against the front of her hoodie. _I think I'm gonna be sick.._ "Ralph!" she said worriedly.

"Vanellope?! Are you okay?!" Ralph and Ralph(AR) asked worriedly in unison.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know I've kept you guys waiting on Litwak and Rio for a while.. I'm not quite sure **why** I did it, but the restaurant name is an allusion to a joke made by Mitch Hedberg (may he rest in peace). The title of the chapter is also partly inspired by that, though the chapter has nothing to do with the contents of the joke.


	116. Terrance's Message

Brad and Calhoun(AR) eventually made their way to Bistro Baklava, one of a few actual restaurants in town, rather than the diner Calhoun had been to before with Felix(AR).

Calhoun(AR) sighed as she and Brad sat opposite each other at a small table. _I don't even know what to talk to him about.._ She looked at the menu curiously when a waitress came to take their orders and got something reasonably priced. _2,500 isn't so bad, I guess. I should find a way to make a living here though, I suppose.._

Brad didn't really mind too much what he was going to eat so he just got something roughly the same price. _It should all be delicious regardless, and it does look good. I'm more concerned about Tams and I.. Felix sort of throws a wrench into things. I don't even know him, but I can't help but feel jealous that he's not only won the heart of 'Tamora', but his counterpart stands a good chance of winning over Tams now as well.._

"I'm sorry," Calhoun(AR) said with a sigh, "This must be hard on you too, being in this situation after you were engaged to her.." _I feel bad about this whole thing. No matter __**who**__ I choose.._

Brad nodded slowly and solemnly said, "Yeah.. I won't lie about it. I may seem calm, but I'm anything but.." _I don't want to make you uncomfortable. Not to mention crying in public would be humiliating._

Calhoun(AR) sighed and said, "So tell me about yourself, Brad. I don't remember much about you.." _Felix, on the other hand.. No, __I should stop thinking about Felix when talking to Brad. It's not fair to him._

"Hmm. Well, I'm sure you must know at least some of this, but I developed the Cy-bugs," Brad said solemnly, "Initially the idea was meant to be a children's toy that adapted to its owner as they grew older, but the company saw its **other** applications and sent me as well as other scientists and civilians to the unnamed planet to finish it. You know how that turned out, of course. The first true Cy-bug, the queen, escaped and ate the source code, enabling it to breed an army of Cy-bugs. It ate things like remote controls and walkie talkies, enabling it to command its descendents through a hivemind."

Calhoun(AR) nodded. _It rings a bell.  
_

"After that, I spent six months living alone in our 99 floor lab," Brad said solemnly, "Over the course of those six months I developed the Multi-Mode Rifle. They utilize the same source code that the queen Cy-bug ate, so they are the most effective at destroying them by far, as the Cy-bugs are constantly adapting. I had just finished them as you and your space marines showed up to rescue me and the few remaining civilians. It wasn't altogether a failure, but it wasn't exactly a victory either, with Cy-bugs surviving long enough to keep reproducing." _I can't really recall much else, other than our dates. But you mean the world to me. Why can't I just say it?  
_

"Right.." Calhoun(AR) said dryly as the waitress returned with their meals. _But that doesn't really tell me how or why I fell in love with you.._ She breathed deeply through her nose. _It's not looking good for you, Brad. I'm sorry.._

* * *

"Vanellope?! Are you okay?!" Ralph and Ralph(AR) asked worriedly in unison.

"I-I'm fine," Vanellope said with a look of disgust on her face, "He just brushed up against me.." _The other Ralph is so similar to my Ralph.._

They could hear a long sigh echo off of every wall in the room, unable to determine where it originated. "I was merely putting something in your pocket for you and Ralph to see later, you're such a drama **princess**," Terrance said with a laugh, "I'm out of here. Later folks. We'll do this again sometime.."

"..How do we know when he's gone?" Emi asked nervously, "The guy gives me the creeps.." _Are we even safe anymore?_

"I don't know.." Candice said worriedly. _Even Ralph couldn't do anything to him. Neither one of them could.._

"I can't sense him here anymore," Luke said with a nervous sigh, "But I don't know if that means he's gone, or if my ability just doesn't work on him.." _Would Ben have been able to do something?_

"It worked before," Jet said nervously, "You saw it.. I think he's gone. At least for now.." _Now __**he's**__ alive, of all people.._

"What did he even want?" Garret asked softly, "He said he put something into Vanellope's pocket.." _Sorry, Jubileena. You saw a bad side of me._

Jubileena shook her head and sighed. _What could you have done better? At least he doesn't seem to be outright hostile. At least not for now.._

"Don't remind me," Vanellope said as she shuddered and wiped her eyes. _The very fact that he's still alive is enough to make me sick to my stomach.. I.. I think we're 'safe', but.. __**Why**__ is he still alive? __**How**__?__ Why can't he just stay dead like he deserves to?_ She rummaged in the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a slip of paper with her kart's code on it. _That's not it.._ She put it back and pulled out a peppermint. _No.._ A few items later, she pulled out a very tiny disc-shaped device with a button on it. Its top was flat and made of glass, with its inner workings on full display.

"What's this?" Ralph asked curiously with a hint of worry as he inspected it cautiously without touching it. _I've n__ever seen anything like it.._

"Should I press the button?" Vanellope asked worriedly as she placed it on the counter, "We don't know what it'll do. I could be a trap.." _But why go through all that trouble since he's so powerful now? How can we stop him when he's like this?_

"I hate to say it, but I think if he actually **wanted** to hurt or kill us, he could have done that without a problem," Ralph(AR) said frustratedly, "We couldn't even **scratch** him, and even a surge protector's force field couldn't contain him.." _We should wrap this up so the surge protectors can try to track him.._

"S-sorry.." Ashley said humbly, "It **should** have worked.." _Did I do something wrong somehow?_

"I say go for it," Felix(AR) said apprehensively as he finished fixing several things in the room, including the medal Terrance gave to Ralph. _Apparently he only really has eyes for him and Vanellope. The rest of us were hardly even worth mentioning to him._

Vanellope clenched a fist before she cautiously pressed the button. _Please don't be a trap.._

"Boo!" a small holographic recording of Terrance said with a laugh, making Vanellope nearly jolt out of her skin, "No, seriously." He sighed. "So we were interrupted, I take it, if you're watching this. Well isn't that just terrific? Kudos to whoever was able to cause such a thing to happen. They are truly to be commended."

Everyone in the room looked at each other with incredulous looks before looking at Ashley and back to the hologram.

"Don't believe for a moment I couldn't have killed every single one of you and deleted your files while I was at it, if I wanted to," Terrance's hologram said with a shrug before crossing his arms, "That would have been no fun, and let's be clear on one thing, I've never even killed **anyone** before. Not even Roxie Rhodes of RoadBlasters.. You think I couldn't have killed Vanellope over the course of those 15 years I was in Sugar Rush? Hah! You're naive if you truly believe that. I'm a **benevolent** ruler." He laughed. "I was content with the way things were going. Sure, King Candy and Vanellope suffered. So? I'd have restored the game when I went to the next best racing game when it came along. They wouldn't have remembered a thing."

Everyone, Ralph, Vanellope and Vannie especially, were skeptical of all this.

"Well, you saw how things went when a certain **wrecker** shook things up in Sugar Rush," Terrance's hologram said with a sigh, "Long story short, Ralph, you got under my skin in a bad way and I **wanted** to end you the moment I smelled your breath in the castle. But I let you live, because that's just how I roll. Skipping forward! A lot of crap happened like you making a kart and yada yada.. Then the Cy-bug you brought with you to Sugar Rush ate me. Oh ho ho ho, man, did that freakin' hurt! Go ahead, smile or laugh, I won't blame you.. **Those** things are merciless killers though, sheesh. I'm glad **that** experience is over with. But fighting you on Diet Cola Mountain is when I realized.. One, I am **awesome** when I'm not wearing someone else's lame personality or being partially controlled myself. And two, fighting with you is fun.."

Vanellope rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth. _He's still no better than before. Get to the point! Does he expect to change anyone's minds with this?_

"Well, in case I didn't get around to it, let me also answer the question that no doubt came up," Terrance said with a grin, "The reason I didn't stay dead that day is simple, really. I made myself a part of the game before merging with King Candy. Simple as that. What idiot would forget something so obvious?.. I'm surprised that you haven't tried to wreck the holographic emitter by now, to be honest, so let me cut to the chase as this has gone on too long, even for me.. Come to **Tartarga**, Ralph. Bring whoever you want with you, I don't care. In the event that a tournament isn't ready to start up in a few days, I'll seek you out with other plans.. I'm a regular participant. Of course I'll never tell you which one I am. Have a Turbo-tastic time until then." He laughed and the hologram glitched slightly before turning off.

Ralph slammed his fist down onto the holographic emitter. _What is he planning? There **has** to be more to it.._

"Well that was uncalled for," Terrance's hologram said with a grin as it came on again, "I hope you listen to the message in full." It glitched slightly and turned off again.

* * *

**Author's Note:** In case you're wondering, Tartarga is not in Game Station West or East.


	117. Tartarga Is,,

Vanellope groaned and said, "Ralph, what are we supposed to do about this? We can't even go to Tartarga anymore, can we?" _Not since Game Central Station was replaced.. __Stupid Turbo. What kind of name is Terrance anyway? Did you do that to hint at your identity all along? I should have picked up on it sooner the way he kept saying 'terrific', 'terrified', and 'terrible'.. 'Oh, look at me, I'm using words with part of my name in it, haha, I'm so clever!'_

"Sorry, kid.." Ralph said contemplatively as he crossed his arms in an attempt to keep his wrecking tendencies at bay, "I'm lost on this one.." _A fight? Seriously? He just wants to __**fight**__? I'd be walking into a loss obviously even if it might not be a trap.. He had every chance to reset Sugar Rush if he wanted to. __O__r even just go in and selectively erase things. __He had every chance to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted__. _He and Ralph(AR) began to pace._ So I don't really believe he would have reset the game when he left.. Or maybe it was just too risky to do until now? __He says h__e saw us program Candice. But how? __That means he was in Sugar Rush 2's code room with us.._

Ralph(AR) scratched his head as he and Ralph continued to pace. _Did he turn invisible __to do that__? That has to be it.._ "I might be wrong, but I think he only turned invisible when he was in Ashley's force field.." _Ashley probably had him pretty good.. He did try to glitch out of there first, to no effect._

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing," Ralph said with a sigh as he and Ralph(AR) stopped pacing, "Ashley, you probably had him pretty good. He did try to glitch out of there first, and nothing happened."

Ashley sighed nervously before screaming inwardly. _I can't believe I made a mistake like that.. I __**had**__ him!_ "I'm sorry.." Her face showed a mix of anger, concern, and regret for letting Terrance escape so easily. _I'm still so new to this. I never had to worry about anything like this aside from __the Bad-Anon and Dragon's Lair__incidents__. __And t__his guy is __**way**__ more dangerous __than Charley was__.._ She put on her strongest face. _I can't keep showing __weakness to __these guys. I'm trained for this. I just have to do what I can.. _"I have to hurry and do a few things.. Don't worry, everyone. He doesn't seem to be hostile at the moment, and I'll do what I can to limit any possible damage he can do. I would recommend staying in games for the moment in case he decides to cause problems." _If you die outside of a game, that's it. __There's n__o chance of coming back like dying in a game __can __afford__.. _She zipped out of Tapper's to check its logs, but the name of the last person to leave was 'Zfwi', and there was no mention of a Terrance anywhere. _This must be some kind of safety precaution he had planned.. In any case I need to check the games for this name and other random lettered names.._

Garret sighed as he swiftly finished his root beer. _I don't even know where Tartarga is. Is there even a game like that here?_

"Fine, I'll **ask**," Jubileena said while rolling her eyes, "What's Tartarga?" _We have mouths, Garret. Don't be afraid to speak up if you don't know something._

Garret scoffed. _What makes you so sure I wasn't about to ask?_

"Well," Ralph said with a contemplative sigh, "There's no way to get there right now as far as I know, but Tartarga is a city which was founded four years ago just inside the outlet that Game Central Station used to be plugged into. I'm not sure **why** a way to get there hasn't been reestablished, or how he got here from there, but you can briefly see it while looking out of the monorail." _I__t's blink and you miss it though. I__ brought Vanellope there a few times __in the past__. __I__t's a little more dangerous than simply coming out__side of your game__, __but Turbo aside it's still safe enough._

"So who exactly is this guy?" Taffy asked apprehensively. _He's obviously bad news, but some of them seem to know who he is.._

"He's Turbo, Mom," little Taffyta said seriously, her brow furrowed with worry, "The guy I told you guys about.."

"So why's he callin' himself Terrance?" Shanks asked confusedly, "Seems he's takin' this new life of his somewhat seriously." _He's way outta line though. __Prancin' around like some kinda god.._

"Not seriously enough," Ralph(AR) scoffed as he rolled his eyes, "He says he's regularly in some kind of tournament, but won't say who he is in it. Which means he has at **least** one other identity he's still hiding." _Which arena does he fight in? Well if I had to guess, it would __probably __be the Demon Palace. Satoru can hold off on removing these memories for the time being until we figure this out.. __Sorry, Candice. I'm not sure if we should have our talk yet or not. Not when I'm like this.. I __**want**__ to. __**Really**__. But I just have a feeling that it will go wrong if we talk things over right now.._

"That's a good point.." Candice said contemplatively. _Why does this have to happen now __of all times__? Something serious happens as soon as this Ralph and I start dating.. Or, well I don't know if we're really __dating__ yet. It all depends on what Ralph wants us to talk over about it. But he definitely __**wants**__ to, so I guess __we are..__ More importantly, is there anything we can do to stop __Terrance__? __I guess I should get used to calling him that since Turbo Time will have a new Turbo come with it..__ The guy isn't remorseful in the slightest __though__. I don't know if we can rest easy until he's at the very least made mortal __again.__._

"I'm not about to let him get under **my** skin," Vannie said firmly as she scowled and crossed her arms. She clenched her fists tightly at the mere thought of Turbo interrupting her and Ralph's love life. _Like hell I'm about to let __**that**__ happen. You hearing me, Ralph?!_

"Right.." Ralph said as he cocked a brow. _Relax just a little bit, Vannie. Just the tiniest iota. I'm the wrecker here. If anyone is supposed to be __that __upset about this, it's me. And no, he's not about to get in the way of us. I can't let that schmuck walk all over us just because we can't __hurt__ him._ "If he wanted to kill us, he'd have done it already. He's sadistic, sure, but I don't think he'll go so far as causing physical harm.."

"**Non**-physical harm is what worries me," Vanellope said worriedly as she looked up at Ralph, "He probably doesn't have those kinds of plans anymore. **Maybe**.. At least not like what he did to me before." _He hasn't done it yet, at least. He still scares the monkey out of me __though__.. _"But he's still playing mind games with us."

"His arrogance at work," Jet said bitterly as he clenched his teeth and fists, "He's just in it for the attention, that bastard. It was **always** about him. No matter what he did, he wouldn't be fully satisfied unless all eyes were on him when he did it." _Not only is Turbo Time coming back, he had to come back as well? What the hell has he been waiting for? Did he do it to show that whatever he does won't be because of the __**new**__ Turbo? Did he want to spare him the same fate or something? I don't even know. Five years I knew him in this arcade and he remained a mystery until the day he went Turbo._

"There any way we can keep him out of our games?" Ash asked reluctantly. _Not that I can get into my code room myself._

"I'd like to know that as well," Gary said. _We've dodged a bullet once, but it's better to take the gun __away so it can't be fired in the first place._

"Probably," Candice said softly, "But I'm not so sure how we could go about it." _Dad might be able to figure something out, I think.._

"Well what about that panel at the games' gateways like William checked a couple of weeks ago?" Jet asked, "Remember, Ralph?" _He opened up some kind of __control __panel and told us before hand that it was Charley who went in__to__ Dragon's Lair last.. I'm still not so sure how King Candy tried to keep Charley out of Sugar Rush 2 at the time, because it didn't work. Or maybe it was because he was merged with me. I don't know._

"Yeah," Ralph said with a knowing nod as he stroked his jaw. _Maybe we.._ "I think we should talk to a surge protector about this before we get too far ahead of ourselves." _Ashley is busy working on something already, Alex is on the other power strip.. I wonder where William is while all this is going on._

Tapper looked at everyone as the discussion took place. He was simply amazed. _I've never seen Ralph like this.. Two Ralphs even. And another Felix. I hope this doesn't ruin my reputation though, having all this ruckus take place in here._

"Sorry to pull you guys into all this," Ralph said with a remorseful sigh. He shook his head disappointedly. _If only I could have somehow caught this before he became a problem._

"You had no way of knowing he was still alive, Ralph," Vannie said softly as she walked over to him. She took a deep breath and hugged him tightly. "You've done **far** more than anyone can possibly expect one person to accomplish." _I know you feel bad about him coming back, seemingly all powerful, but you can't let him do this to you. We'll get through this just fine. Just like we always do._

"She's right, Ralph," Vanellope said softly, "None of us knew that Turbo is still alive. Terrance, whatever.. I say we just tell William about it and then go about our lives as if this whole thing didn't happen. Although Ashley will probably take care of telling William for us.

Ralph hugged Vannie back. _Thanks, I needed this.._

* * *

Around that time in the downtown area of E-Z Livin'.

William was humming to himself as he spray painted a beautiful mural on the side of a previously blank wall. It was the scenery of Adrenaline Rush just beyond the entrance. There were the giant shish kebab trees and the giant portobello mushrooms, as well as several orangeboars out in the distance.

"It's missing something.." William grumbled, "What is it missing?" _Maybe if I added one of those monster trucks off to the side here?_ He sighed. _Maybe, but what colors? Black would be a __**start**__. Oh, now __**there's**__ an idea.._ He reached down and grabbed a black can of spray paint and carefully spray painted a black monster truck, switching out to a chrome can of spray paint for the rims and a few other details. He then put blue lightning bolts all across it. _I don't suppose it would be such a bad idea to get one myself.. But since I put 'my truck__'__ there, I might as well be here too.._ He spray painted himself with a confident glare, holding a Multi-Mode Rifle from Hero's duty in both hands for added impact. He scoffed to himself. _This is far better than all the graffiti I'd ever done in Game Central Station.._

"Ooh, like it," a few citizens of E-Z Livin' said as they gave William excited thumbs up. What appeared to be small gold coins flew into William's pocket where he had his 'like it' magnet.

"Thanks," William said with a chuckle as he placed the can of spray paint on the ground and stood back to look at the finished product, still being showered with 'like its'. _I like it too.. I guess I'd better get back to work __though__._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I just had to drop some hints as to what game this Tartarga place is based off of. And I also just had to add some William in there to show what he's been doing.


	118. Informing the Chefs

Ralph swallowed hard as he lengthened his and Vannie's hug. _We're not being too relaxed about Turbo coming back, are we? I know it's a big deal. Especially since he seemingly can't get hurt, but.._

"Come on, let's get some root beer first," Vannie said softly and sighed as she lovingly gazed into Ralph's eyes, "We'll worry about it after that, okay? And we still need to go to Adrenaline Rush. We have to warn them too.." _Satoru and Rio might be able to do something.._

It was an eerily quiet few minutes of mostly silence. They did mull over a few half-baked courses of action they could take while drinking root beer, but nothing conclusive came up.

"Jet, don't forget about telling the Food Fight chefs about their restaurant.." Crumbelina said softly as she stroked her empty mug, "I'm sure they'd like to know." _I don't know if we should tell them that Turbo is alive though. Should we keep something like this a secret?_

"Good point," Jet said with a contemplative sigh as he slowly stood up, "I guess we should head to BurgerTime now." _I don't know __either__. I don't want to cause a panic.. That's exactly what he's after, isn't it? He craves attention. It doesn't matter __to him __what kind.._

"Chefs?" Shanks asked, "I guess I'm a little hungry, mind if I join you?" _It won't be as good as what I'm used to, but I'm no use to these guys.. Sure I can fight. But that didn't turn out well fer neither Ralph, and I don't know about all this talk about codin' and gateway panels.._

"Not at all," Jet said with a reserved smile. _I'd rather just sit back and unwind.. But that just ain't happening._

"Not going to include us in that?" Taffy asked with a frown. _I'm not even in a teasing mood now because of that Terrance guy.._

"I.. just didn't think everybody in this room would be up fer it, that's all I meant.." Shanks said reservedly. _There's a lot of us in here. I wouldn't feel right speakin' fer everybody._

"We don't want to spend our cherries on food just yet," Taffyta said with a sigh, "We might as well eat at BurgerTime for a change. We'll see you guys later, okay?" _We're useless when it comes to this kind of thing.._

Rancis rubbed Taffyta's shoulder lovingly. _It's okay, Taffyta. I know it seem__s__ a little hopeless, but they'll figure something out.. This Terrance guy might not __really __even want to hurt anyone. He didn't when he had so many chances._

"Later, Taffyta," Vannie said in a bittersweet tone, "Sorry that today sort of went downhill.." _That guy sure knows how to ruin everyone's mood._

"It's okay, Vannie," Taffyta said softly with a weak smile as she and Rancis wrapped their arms around each other's waists and joined Jet, Crumbelina, Shanks, Taffy, little Rancis and little Taffyta in leaving for BurgerTime.

"It's nobody's fault but 'Terrance's'.." Ralph(AR) mumbled disgruntledly._I'm happy for you, Ralph.._

Candice scooted her stool closer to Ralph(AR). "You doing okay?" she asked softly as she placed her hand on his back, rubbing it in a calming manner. _I'm here for you, you know?_

"Yeah," Ralph(AR) said with a somber chuckle, "Thanks, Candice.." _I'd hug her, but I don't really think that's appropriate right now.._

Vannie eyed them with a sheepish grin on her face. _Go get him, Candice.._

"Vannie, leave them alone," Ralph said with a chuckle. _Alright, so they like each other, you don't have to embarrass them._

"I bet this is all so funny to you, Vannie," Candice said sheepishly. _Practically shoving me in his face like that. But I do appreciate it now.._

"Well excuse me for looking out for my little sister," Vannie said wryly. _Let's just forget about Terrance for a little while.._

"So you guys are going out?" Vanellope asked with a curious smile, "That's acceptable." _That means this Ralph will hang out with us more often now, right? __No matter what, Ralph is Ralph._

"I'm glad to have your approval," Ralph(AR) said with a sheepish laugh. _If only you knew, kid.. I almost feel like telling them, but I don't want them to worry about me either._

"Sorry to interrupt," Jubileena said reluctantly, "But we should probably head to Adrenaline Rush now, right?" _It's great that you guys are still able to stay so calm after all that, but we should really do something about __Terrance__ while we still can._

"Ah, yeah," Felix(AR) said anxiously, "I almost forgot that." _I need to stop spacing out. I can't stop thinking about Tammy even at a time like this.. She must have met up with Brad by now __though__. I wonder if she's made up her mind yet.. I need to know one way or the other._

"Alright, well let's go.." Ralph(AR) said with a sigh. _I somehow doubt Satoru can really do much of anything about this. But there's no harm in trying._

The group made their way out of Tapper's and saw William zipping across to various gateways fiddling with the control panels of each. The place was eerily empty, everyone having been notified of the situation. As soon as they crossed the threshold of Tapper's' gateway, triggering an alarm, William zipped over to greet them.

"Now, don't you folks worry, alright," William said in a somewhat confident tone, "Jet explained the situation to me just a moment ago.. Alex, Ashley and I are working overtime on this. If he goes into a game, we'll **know** right away. Ignore the alarms for the time being. It's just a precaution." _We lost track of him after he took the monorail, but I __should__n't tell them that. __He didn't go to Game Station West, and he didn't go into any of the games plugged directly into outlets.. _His face grew concerned. _There can really only be __**one**__ place he went then, but.._

"What's wrong?" Garret asked worriedly, "Did you figure something out?" _It's like he had an epiphany or something._

"I just think I know where he went now, that's all," William said with a contemplative nod, "It's out of our jurisdiction, but I'll inform the ones in charge of that area." _The stop __for that place __may not work, but __**I **__can still make it there easily._

"**That area**?" Ralph asked somewhat knowingly, "You mean Tartarga?" _This isn't really news to us if that's the case._

"Yeah, but it doesn't really make sense. Every time we would try to make a stop there, the monorail just keeps going," William said confusedly, "We sort of gave up after a few tries when it became obvious it wouldn't stop there. The other stops between here and Game Station West worked flawlessly the entire time, but the monorail would always **refuse** to stop at Tartarga." He scratched his head. _But now that I think about it, that could be his doing as well._

"He says wants to fight Ralph there," Vanellope said in an annoyed tone as she rolled her eyes, "He apparently lives there and is a regular participant in their tournaments." _I hope he's not one of the palace Emperors. He doesn't deserve a title like that.. But how could he lose with that kind of power?_

"I'll pass it on," William said with a grateful nod. _Maybe we should try setting up a stop there again. Since he wants Ralph to come, it might stick.._

* * *

"You guys go ahead and grab some seats," Jet said as his group made their way inside BurgerTime, "I need to go speak with the chefs for a moment." _William at least __**seems**__ confident that they can keep Turbo at bay._

"I'm coming with you," Crumbelina said as she put her arm over Jet's shoulder. _They'll be nicer if I'm around._

"Alright, we'll be waiting," Rancis said with a contemplative nod. _I can't even imagine what it must be like for Jet. First the news that Turbo Time is coming back hits him, and now the one who got this whole mess started turns out of have been alive this whole time, __**and**__ is basically a god now. We're lucky that guy didn't decide to kill the lot of us._

Jet and Crumbelina made their way to the counter. "Hey Peter," Jet said apprehensively, "Are they in a bad mood today?" _I'm sure they must be. Especially if news of Turbo Time already made it to their ears._

"Pretty much, Jet.." Peter Pepper said with a sigh. He was a short chef with a toque on his head that had a red P monogrammed on it. He had short black hair which was neatly tucked away. He was standing on a set of small stairs to raise himself up to their level. _I know you're trying, Jet. But some wounds just don't heal so easily. __Especially with Turbo Time's arrival being just around the corner._

"I have some good news for them today, do you think you can go get them for me?" Jet asked softly, "Or just one of them is fine.." _I'm sure that at least Zorba will hear me out._

"I can try," Peter said, "I'll be a moment." _I hope Turbo Time isn't the good news. I don't need a food fight __**here**__._

A moment passed and the three living Food Fight chefs, who were equally as short as Peter Pepper, made their way to the counter.

"Good news, indeed," Jacques said bitterly as he crossed his arms, "Congratulations, Turbo Time is coming back to the arcade. Hooraaay." _Are you trying to piss us off now? We __**told**__ you that we don't even want you to talk to us. Why do you keep doing it?_

Jet winced. _I wouldn't tell you that's good news.. _"That's **not** what this is about," he said earnestly, "That's bad news for me too, I mean it.." _Far more than you know.._

"Tell us then," Angelo said while rolling his eyes, "We've got **burgers** to flip, you know?" _We're still waiting for you to make good on what you said weeks ago. 'Sorry, I don't know what's taking so long. He says he's busy with something.'_ _If you've just been lying to us in an attempt to get us to forgive you, then you're more messed up than we thought._

"Be nice," Crumbelina said softly. _Don't make me be mean to you guys. __I know you've had it and are still having it rough because of him.._

Angelo crossed his arms and rolled his eyes again. _How she can be his girlfriend after knowing what he's done is beyond me. I wouldn't be able to trust someone like that._

"King Candy is finally working on your restaurant," Jet said softly, "He'll need to see you guys soon to make you part of the game, if you're still interested.. He could do that part in a matter of minutes, actually. Not to mention you could explain to him exactly what you want the restaurant to be like."

"Well it's about time," Jacques said with with a sigh, "We've been waiting **weeks**, you know? What was so important that it took so long to get to us?" _So he wasn't just lying then.. Unless he's lying now for some reason. Surely he knows better than to make us go all the way out there for nothing.._

"It's not our place to talk about that," Crumbelina said, "You can ask him yourself when you see him.."

"Um.. How has Charley been lately?" Zorba asked apprehensively while fidgeting with his hands. _I always worried about him after he disappeared. But to think he's been with Jet these past few weeks.._

"He's been good," Jet said warmly, "He's happy.. I could tell him you want to see him, if you'd like.."

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's been a **long** time coming for the Food Fight chefs. I'd be bitter about it too.


	119. Dinners

"N-no, please don't.." Zorba said apprehensively, "I doubt he would want to see any of us.." _Not after we let Oscar stay in the game with his wife when the game got unplugged.._

"He does," Jet said softly, "He's worried that's how you feel about him.. I know you guys didn't really get along in the past, but he could use someone to have a food fight with every now and then." _It's in your code, you know? I felt it __myself__ back when I was taking __Jacques'__ role._

"It's hardly wise to have a food fight in a restaurant," Jacques said after thinking about it. _We'd have to worry about all sorts of things like clean up and customers __being run off__.._

"You can bring up any concerns you have about it with King Candy," Jet said softly, "I'm sure he can do something about any problems that would arise." _If Ralph can make himself clean with the snap of a fingers now, I don't think it would be so hard to clean the restaurant after a food fight._

Jacques scoffed defeatedly and said, "I guess.." _We should probably go see him before he gets too much done.._ His voice took a reluctantly softer tone. "You can go have a seat now, you've said what you came to say, haven't you?"_Well, it's something.._

"Yeah," Jet said with a sincere nod, "Good luck, guys.." _I'm sure they'll be okay like this.._

Jet and Crumbelina slowly made their way back to the others in their group and sat down in a nearby empty booth. Jet rested his head on the back of the soft fake-leather seat and sighed. _It's been too long. I understand why King Candy did what he did, but the chefs were waiting before they started to program Candice. Did he just keep forget__ting?_

"How'd it go?" Rancis asked hopefully. _Couldn't have gone worse than the previous times __he went talk to them__ since he had good news for them __this time__._

"I think it went okay," Jet said with a sigh as he raised his head to look Rancis in the eye, "Things can't really go back to the way they were, but it won't be bad for them, I'm sure.." _They'll have their restaurant, __and __maybe the occasional food fight.. The only thing missing besides the players is Oscar, and Charley's mother.._

"So I reckon we've missed something," Shanks said pointedly, with a hint of concern. _It's like we're the only ones who don't know what's goin' on._

"I'll tell it this time, Jet," Crumbelina said softly as she rubbed his shoulder tenderly. _You've told it more than your fair share already._ She gave them a shortened version of Jet's story as they ate.

Taffy breathed deeply as she let the story sink in. _I never would have expected someone so nice to do something like that.._ "That's certainly.. surprising.."

"Yeah," Jet said somberly. _I know.._

"But he's been a completely good person since then," Crumbelina said earnestly, "The worst thing he's done since then is trick Felix into eating anchovies.." _Now isn't the time, Brain._

* * *

Rio shifted in her seat, stifling a laugh. "Well, I think you'd be hard pressed to get them to talk to you under normal circumstances," she said warmly, "You might be able to get the ones from Adrenaline Rush to talk to you after some prodding. It's all up to how that goes, whether or not the others will drop the act.. You've got to realize that games are meant to strictly adhere to programming. Any deviation could lead to their game getting unplugged as far as they're concerned." _I wonder what he would say to them. I can almost bet that he'll try tomorrow.._

"I suppose that makes sense," Litwak said seriously with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. _I may as well give it a shot regardless. It'd be incredible to witness something like that.._

Their meals arrived and they continued to talk between bites.

"How do you suppose they feel about Turbo Time coming back?" Litwak asked seriously, "A great many of my games were around when Turbo went rogue. Surely the others wouldn't feel safe around this new Turbo.."_I'm still apprehensive about the whole thing myself._

"You're right," Rio said as she furrowed her brow guiltily, "I suppose it was wrong of me to ask you to buy the game. Especially without explaining things first.. But I am **confident** that nothing will go wrong with them. I just don't want those consoles to continue to gather dust in some warehouse.."

"Fair enough," Litwak said with a nod, "That's not an unreasonable way to look at it given the circumstances.. On a lighter note. Do you have any future games in mind?" He smiled warmly. _You can tell me.._

"None that will be around so soon," Rio said with a chuckle, "We're currently gauging interest in Ralph and Felix for another game about them for PC, though we don't really have anything planned in specific. And well, it would be much later than that, but there's also a potential Sugar Rush platformer spinoff with the kids of some of the racers. Well, they wouldn't be kids though. We've sort of gotten into the habit of expanding on existing game worlds rather than create new ones.." _Although I certainly have a few on the backburner._

"Ah, I seem to remember reading about a Sugar Rush platformer in the past.." Litwak said with a smile. _Come to think of it, aren't there two Ralphs and Felixs in my arcade now? Plus the Sugar Rush gang.._ "I bet that must be interesting, them meeting themselves though. The Sugar Rush racers and the Fix-It Felix Jr. gang." _This whole thing is practically insane. It's gone beyond simply cuckoo at this point._

"So you've heard of Sweet Climber then," Rio said with a smirk, "And I hadn't really thought about it that way.. Now that I think about it though, I bet that must take some getting used to, them interacting with different versions of themselves." _Especially Vanellope._

"Well, I came across it a few times while looking around for information on Sugar Rush 2 before it came out," Litwak said with a sheepish chuckle before letting out a sigh, "That reminds me though.. Around the same time that the Q*bert gang showed up in the bonus level for Fix-It Felix Jr., Vanellope started showing up in Sugar Rush again after being missing for.." He did the math in his head. "**15 years**.. I considered calling to ask about it, but it seemed to work flawlessly otherwise, so I left it be."

"She was missing for **15 years**?" Rio asked worriedly, "I wish you **had** called.." _I'm glad she made it back, however she did it. I wonder what happened for 15 years.._

"In hindsight, I agree," Litwak said with a sigh, "So many instances of things like that went on over the past 30 years.." He shook his head solemnly. _Just what have they been getting caught up in?_

Before long, they finished eating and split the bill at Litwak's insistence.

"Will you be coming to the arcade tomorrow?" Litwak asked warmly with a hopeful smile as the two got outside. _I don't know if I'm just imagining things or not, but.._

"I'll be here a while longer yet, so yes," Rio said with a smirk, "I've got a roll of quarters ready to go and everything." She chuckled softly and shook her head. "I stick out like a sore thumb though, with all those kids around." _They've probably spread rumors to their friends by now, I'd imagine._

"I could make an exception and let you in early, if you'd like," Litwak said with a chuckle, "Just not **too** early."

"We'll see," Rio said with a nod, "Thanks for keeping me company tonight. It was fun." _I guess I'll have to tell Satoru how things went. Honestly I don't know what's gotten into him though.._

"Likewise," Litwak said warmly as the two parted ways. He got into his car and hummed practically the entire way home. _Wreck-It Ralph was a giant of a man.._

* * *

Brad sighed as he rested his head on his upright arms after finishing his meal. He shook his head somberly and asked, "I'm not doing so well, am I?" He looked her in the eye knowingly. _We've been so.. distant.. this entire meal._

"No.. sorry.." Calhoun(AR) said somberly, "I just don't see how I can make this work out between us.. I know it sounds cliché, but it really isn't about you.."

"Don't be sorry, Tams," Brad said softly in a slightly quivering voice. He suddenly felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart with a knife, with it being twisted in place ever so slightly afterward. "You were made from the code of someone who is in love with '**Felix**', after all.." _In a way, this was the only possible outcome. I was just fooling myself.._

"It's not just that," Calhoun(AR) said somberly as she clenched a fist before easing back into her chair with a sigh, "I chose this. I '**love**' both of you, but I chose Felix instead of you.. You must think I'm a horrible person for giving you false hope like this. I don't blame you.." _I was set up to fail from the beginning. Being forced to choose between two loved ones.._

"I don't think that **at all**," Brad said earnestly, "You are the most wonderful person I've ever met, Tams. Nothing could possibly change that. **Nothing**.. As long as you're happy with him, then that will be all the comfort I need to keep going.. You don't have to worry about me bothering you guys further.." _I'll __just __keep to myself. You'll hardly know I'm here.._

"Don't go away, Brad," Calhoun(AR) said softly, insistently, "That's not what I want.. I know it's selfish of me, but I still want to at least be around you. Even if only as friends." _It's not even about keeping him away from my original anymore.._

"Are you sure that won't be a problem for you and Felix?" Brad asked somberly, "It will be awkward, you know?" _Ripping you out of my life entirely is certainly something I would love to avoid at all costs.._

"I'm sure.." Calhoun(AR) said with a solemn nod, "I know.. I know it will be awkward, but all the same.." She sniffled slightly and swallowed hard. "I think we should go for now though. I need some time to think." _I don't know how I should approach Felix after this. And what should I say to my original? This is so frustrating.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's been a while since I had Litwak and Rio, and Brad and Calhoun(AR)'s dinners in the spotlight..


	120. Ralph(AR) and Candice's Talk

"It's true," Taffyta said insistently. _Jet's a __**good**__ guy.._

"Yeah," Rancis said with a nod, "So you've really got nothing to worry about with him."

"Thanks, guys," Jet said earnestly. _That means a lot to me. I just wish I had turned things around sooner before __it__ got th__at__ bad.._

"Alright, I get it," Taffy said with a chuckle. _If __Taffyta and Rancis say__ so, I'll believe it._

"No arguments here," Shanks said with a smile as he shrugged. _Jet has__ been fine so far.. But these burgers aren't quite as bad as I was expecting. Still could be worlds better though. If they had some better ingredients to work with, I wonder how __much it would improve.._

Jet grinned sheepishly despite trying to force it down. _You're really being too nice about it though.._

Crumbelina stroked the back of Jet's head sweetly. _Shut up, Jet._ She sighed lightly and asked, "I know it's kind of sudden, what with that guy being alive and all, but why don't we go to Adrenaline Rush rather than mope around?" _I don't mean to make light of the situation, but the surge protectors will handle it._

"Sounds good to me.." Jet said. _I'd suspect that Leon and the others went there as well. _"William and the other surge protectors have this under control now that they know he can turn invisible." _We couldn't really do much to stop him ourselves at any rate.._

"So where are we going this time?" little Rancis asked. _We ate here because Jet needed to come here anyway, but the food there is better. Sort of a missed opportunity.._

"Depends," Shanks said while stroking his chin, "Where've ya'll been so far?"

"Taffyta.. I mean.. Um, well, not the older one.." little Rancis said awkwardly as he scratched his head, "Anyway, she and I went pretty much straight to the castle with Ralph and the others, and that's where we met you two." _There's gotta be an easier way to say that._

"The Ralph and Felix from your game brought us to.. What was it called again?" Crumbelina said while furrowing her brow. _Those chip trees.._

"The Crisp Grove," Jet said with a chuckle, "We passed a few things like a lake full of ramen along the way, but that's pretty much it as far as I can remember." _I could just about dive into that lake. I wonder what kind of egg that was in there though.._

"Alright," Shanks said with a chuckle, "Well I think we can do better than that."

The eight of them made their way to Adrenaline Rush through the mostly empty Game Station West then East, ignoring the alarms as they were instructed.

* * *

"Alright, so here we are.." Ralph said with a sigh as they got to Adrenaline Rush a half hour earlier than Jet and his gang.

"Thanks for the heads up, Ralph," Vanellope said wryly as she stroked his hair from her shoulder seat.

"Just in case any of you forgot where we were headed," Ralph said wryly as he shrugged the shoulder she wasn't sitting on.

"I have a small request," Leon said sheepishly, "It's a bit selfish but we've got some stuff to turn in.."

"Mentos.." Ralph(AR) said with a knowing smirk, "We know."

"Well it's a **tad** bit more important to inform Satoru and the others about Terrance," Felix(AR) said with a half-worried chuckle, "But I suppose it wouldn't take all of us to inform them." _I can't really chide anyone on selfishness. I'd like to break off from the group and find Tammy as well.. She's likely to be in Bramble somewhere._ He swallowed hard. _And I'm thirsty too._

"Alright, I say we split off into two groups then," Ralph said with a smirk, "The selfish guys.. I'm just joking by the way.. and the group that goes to the castle. In reality we really only need one person to go to the castle anyway. It's not like Turbo could make it in here with the surge protectors on high alert and so few people out of their games, so there's no real worry there."

Leon furrowed his brow. _I wonder who else will go with the selfish __team__._

"I'll be selfish," Felix(AR) said with a sheepish grin while raising his hand slightly, "I kind of want to see how Tammy is doing.."

"Sarge?" Garret asked while cocking his brow. _That's not a shock, but.._

"Er.." Felix(AR) said guiltily, "Well, you see.. How do I put this?" _I really shouldn't have opened my mouth.._

"Calhoun made a copy of herself in this game," Ralph(AR) said while shaking his head, "She's in the position of choosing between him and Brad at the moment.." _Thanks to my urging her to do so mostly, I think.._

"Ay yai yai.." Ralph said while shaking his head, "Well that's sort of expected, to be honest." _He's already calling her Tammy even.._

"I suppose I'll go with the castle group," Candice said sheepishly, "Since Ralph here will no doubt be going that way." _I'm sort of going out with him. Why would I split up?_

"Aww," Vannie said sweetly. _I'm so glad they've taken to each other so easily._

"Shush," Candice said while scrunching her face slightly in playful annoyance, "It's your fault." She chuckled.

"I accept full responsibility," Vannie said with a mischievous grin. _You deserve a good guy like him._

Ralph(AR) breathed deeply through his nose, trying his best to control his heart. _It's __**really**__ not fair of me to feel this way, but I wish I could hold onto both of them.._

"Which group will you be going with, Vannie?" Jubileena asked. _We came all this way to hang out with __**you**__._

"Tough call," Vannie said while scratching the back of her neck, "Whichever route Ralph here is taking." _Castle?_

"Castle," Ralph said plainly, "I've got a feeling Felix and Calhoun are there." _Oh, um. How to say it?_

"I know which you mean," Felix(AR) said with a chuckle as Ralph looked at him and opened his mouth.

"Right.." Ralph said with a chuckle and a nod. _It's a bit confusing at times having people with the same name. And character as well, more or less.._

"I'll be selfish," Ash said with a shrug, "I somehow feel as though tattered clothes and castles don't mix."

"Let me get that for ya," Ralph said as he lightly grabbed Ash's shoulder and tapped his forehead, producing a non-tattered version of Ash's clothes, "..All you gotta do is say something." He chuckled sheepishly.

"Thanks," Ash said with a chuckle, "What'll you do Gary?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Gary said while stroking his masked chin, "Ninjas are likely to be unwelcome in a castle setting, but I rather like being a ninja." _I don't really need an outfit change. Thanks though.._

"Alright, two more for the selfish team then," Ash said with a shrug. _Your call, man._

"Alright," Felix(AR) said cheerfully as he clapped his hands together twice. His monster truck spawned in front of them. "Selfish team climb aboard." He chuckled. "We'll see you guys later."

"Later," Ralph(AR) said with a smirk and a wave as Felix(AR) got into his monster truck.

Leon, Minty, Ash, and Gary climbed into the back and then set off for Bramble.

Ralph(AR) clapped his hands together twice to spawn his monster truck, which was thankfully larger than Felix(AR)'s.

"Shotgun," Candice said sheepishly before climbing in. _Maybe now we can talk.._

Vannie shook her head with a mischievous grin and said, "Fine by me. Come on Ralph." She glitched herself and Ralph into the back of the monster truck. _I_ s_till need a little more practice.._

Garret and Jubileena climbed aboard shortly after and set off for the castle.

* * *

"So what is it you wanted to talk over?" Candice asked half-worriedly after making sure the back window was closed so the others couldn't hear.

"Promise not to tell anyone, and also let me finish?" Ralph(AR) asked worriedly. _I want this to be a __secret between us.._

"Is it that bad?" Candice asked worriedly as she clenched a handle on the door. _I hope it's not that bad.._

"It's.. Kind of bad, yeah.." Ralph said and winced slightly, "I'm not really sure how to say it though.."

"Just say it.." Candice said while furrowing her brow as a sinking feeling in her stomach took over. _What is it?_

"It's nothing that Satoru can't fix, I promise.." Ralph(AR) said earnestly, "And **please** don't tell Vannie or Ralph, or **anyone else** about this.." _If they found out.._

"O-okay.." Candice said worriedly. _What is he getting at? What happened? How is Satoru __of all people __involved? __It must require programming or something.._

Ralph(AR) heaved a deep sigh as the words arranged themselves haphazardly in his head. "Yesterday before going home, Felix and I went to check out our counterpart's game and it sort of messed with our heads.." _You can probably guess. You know how my counterpart met Vannie.._

"Messed with your heads in what way, exactly?" Candice asked worriedly. _I think I have an idea but.._ She breathed deeply in an attempt to remain calm.

Ralph(AR) winced and said, "You probably already guessed.." He clenched the steering wheel tightly in his hands. "Everything the **other **Ralph knew before that, **I** know. It's the same way with Felix.."

"Oh.." Candice said somberly, "So when you look at Vannie.." _You see your girlfriend with another man who looks just like you used to? What does that make me? You said you want to date me, but.._

"I remember **everything**, yes.." Ralph(AR) said somberly, "It **hurts**, knowing that I'll never be with her. But I'll do **everything** in my power to make this work between you and I.. And Satoru will erase all of Ralph's memories from mine as best he can. Just as it should be. I'd like to keep the bits about you though.. I really do want to be with you, it's just that these memories from him are getting in the way a little." He breathed deeply. _I don't really know what else to add to that._

Candice sighed somberly. _I knew something was bothering him, but this is a lot heavier than I expected.. So he remembers everything that Ralph ever knew? All the way back 30 and a half years? Things like meeting Vanellope, helping her and her game, then meeting Vannie.. __Dating her. Kissing her.._A knot tightly formed in her stomach. "So you remember programming me too?" she asked apprehensively, glancing over to him worriedly.

"Yes.." Ralph(AR) said earnestly, "I **vivid****ly** remember how you grew up. You're one of the most wonderful people in this entire arcade. That's why I want to do **whatever** it takes to make this work. To make you happy. To make **both** of us happy.. You are **not** a replacement for Vannie. I want to make that clear right now.."

"Out of curiosity.. If you could have whichever one of us you wanted.." Candice asked nervously, "No.. That's not a fair question to any of us.. Forget I asked.." _I already know the answer to that.._

"We both know I couldn't answer that without being biased towards her.." Ralph(AR) said somberly while inwardly berating himself, "But that's because I'm overrun with memories of being with her to begin with.. We don't know **how** I would have ended up answering that if I had a clean slate.."

"Fair enough," Candice said with a frown, "I'm glad you at least told me all of this instead of keeping it a secret.." _Not that you're the type who would.._

"I wouldn't do that," Ralph(AR) said softly, "He doesn't do that either, and you know it.."

"Yeah.." Candice said softly, "I'm worried I'll end up boring you though.." _Since we're clearing the air like this.._

"That's not going to happen, promise.." Ralph(AR) scoffed with a soft smile and sigh, "You're not giving yourself enough credit, Candice. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Thanks," Candice said warmly, "So I'm guessing you'd like to move into a guest room then.." _You know, since you remember doing that and all.._

"I'm a bit wary of that, to be honest," Ralph(AR) said sheepishly, "I don't want you to think that we have to go at the same pace they did.. sleeping in the same bed and stuff like that.." _Granted, Vanellope was there with 'us' most of the time._

"And if I wanted to?" Candice asked nervously, "I mean.. It wouldn't be so bad, would it?" _I know it will be awkward and embarrassing, but there can't be any harm in it. At least no lasting harm, if any.._

"I won't deny I'd like that," Ralph(AR) said with a sheepish chuckle, "But I think that should wait until **after** the other memories are removed as best as they can be.."

"When will that be?" Candice asked softly, "I wish I could say that it wouldn't bother me if you kept those memories of being with her, but.." _That's the only part that would bother me.._

"I'm not sure, but it would bother **both** of us.." Ralph(AR) said earnestly as his eyes welled with tears, "It's not fair to any of us.. It hurts for me to even think about it, you know? I'll never be Vanellope's father either. That's what hurts the most out of all of this, I think.." _She's made his life far brighter than she knows.._

"Couldn't we let just **her** in on this?" Candice asked softly as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "You know she would be excited to have you.." _She has taken in Vincent as a second dad, why would she refuse a third if it's __**him**__?_

"It's tempting.." Ralph(AR) said with a solemn nod, "I can't be sure of that though. She knows I didn't really do any of that. And it's going to be erased anyway.. Otherwise it's like I'd be trying to take over his life.." _No matter how precious those memories are.._

"Why not keep them?" Candice asked softly, "Your memories aren't the only thing that make you who you are.." _Just as long as it's not the ones of you dating Vannie.. I could live with it if I had to, but.._

Ralph breathed deeply a few times and swallowed hard. "It's selfish.." _It's so selfish to want that so badly.._

"We should have gone with Felix," Candice said with a knowing chuckle, "It can't be so wrong though, can it? So you didn't** really** try to sacrifice yourself to save her or teach her how to drive.. Wouldn't you have still done all that if you really had been in that situation?" _I'm willing to bet you would have.._

"I can't say no," Ralph(AR) said with a sigh, "But I still didn't do it.."

"Why don't we let her decide?" Candice asked, "We can have her glitch in and ask her. You know she can keep important secrets.."

* * *

**Author's Note:** What Ralph chooses to do next was decided on by a reader poll.


	121. On the Same Page

"No.." Ralph(AR) said with a somber sigh as he shook his head, "It wouldn't be right to do that.. It's not like I can't be Vanellope's friend once Ralph's memories are gone. I'll still be here. We all will." _Thankfully I won't remember this pain afterwards either.._

"I get ya," Candice said softly, "Will you still feel the same way about me though? Those are a lot of memories to remove.." _You wouldn't even remember this talk.._

"I don't know," Ralph(AR) said with a sigh, "But trust me when I say that I'd go out with you if you explain it to me. Get Satoru to explain it even. Heck, might as well have me record myself a message while we're at it." _Satoru had just better not mess this up._

"Okay, okay," Candice said softly, "I get it.." _I feel better about it now at least, __but I just.._

"You gotta relax a bit, Candice," Ralph(AR) said softly, "You're more of a worry wart than the other Ralph is. I could tell you stories.." _Though I'd really rather not._

"That's okay.." Candice said, "I don't want you dwelling on it." _I'd feel so horrible if he forgets me.._ She fidgeted with her hands in her lap.

Ralph(AR) scoffed knowingly. _Yeah.._

* * *

"They're cute together," Vannie beamed triumphantly as she eased into Ralph's arms and lap, "Don't you think so?" _I was worried for a little while, but it seems to be going __very __well._

"Yeah, Candice hit the jackpot, really," Vanellope said with a laugh, "He's just like our Ralph, in a way." _Even down to the reaction that Turbo was alive. I guess he was briefed by someone. __I'm gonna glitch Turbo __**so hard**__ if he comes anywhere near us.._

"How is that a surprise?" Ralph asked while cocking a brow. _He's more like me than I expected though. He __**must**__ have assimilated some of my memories. __A__fter what Felix said, __and seeing him myself, it's the only explanation__. __And the other Felix is also calling Calhoun Tammy already.._

"So Leon **really** wants a monster truck, huh?" Vannie asked wryly.

"It almost seems like it'll be a dream come true for him," Jubileena said with a laugh. _That's why we gave him all the mentos we collected._

"He **really** likes that sort of thing," Garret said with a chuckle, "You saw how interested he was when he saw Ash's shotgun for the first time." _He probably wants a shotgun too. It wouldn't surprise me._

"So how have things been going with you guys?" Vannie asked wryly.

"Good," Jubileena said sheepishly. _I'd rather not talk about my sex life, Vannie.._ "It's nice to see that the Ralph and Felix from this game are feeling better though. They were looking pretty bad yesterday once they got into Fix-It Felix Jr."

"Headaches?" Ralph asked knowingly.

"Well they didn't say anything about headaches," Jubileena said, "but they said they were feeling weak and tired. It looks like their friend fixed it though, whatever it was." _I could have sworn I saw him glitch a little bit too.._

Ralph nodded. _Yeah.. But was it really fixed?_

* * *

"So how are you selfish guys doing back there?" Felix(AR) asked cheerfully to the four sitting in the back of his truck. _We have to joke about it or we'll take it too seriously.._

"Great," Minty said with a laugh, "I'm sure we'll never live it down though."

"Ah, what else is new?" Leon asked with a laugh, "So Felix, how did you meet Sarge's.. well, 'copy' sounds a little harsh.." _But what else could I say?_

"Ah," Felix said with a nervous laugh, "Well, once Ralph and I got back to our game I just happened to meet her.." _No, I shouldn't keep it a secret.._

"I bet it must be rough," Ash said knowingly, "I'm rooting for you."

"Why thank you, Ash," Felix(AR) said with a somber chuckle, "I feel bad about the whole thing, to be honest.. Don't spread it around, but truth be told.." He shook his head and sighed. "Ralph and I sort of have the memories of the other Ralph and Felix in our heads too right now. That's what was making us feel ill last night."

"Oh no.." Minty said somberly. _I couldn't imagine what that's like.._

"Well," Leon said with a knowing sigh, "I guess that explains it entirely.. What are you going to do about that?" _Are you going to just keep them in your head?_

"Satoru will remove the memories soon," Felix(AR) said with a sigh, "As great as these memories are, I'd like to live my **own** life, not his." _But jaminy, I feel like I need Tammy. _He clenched his steering wheel tightly. _There's no two ways about it.._

"Aside from being with Calhoun, of course," Gary said, "She's a good one, no question."

"Er.. Yeah," Felix(AR) said sheepishly, "Promise you won't spread this around to anyone?" _Especially if she ends up staying with Brad.._

"Promise!" Minty said seriously, "..Brad is the guy that got eaten by a Cy-bug during Tammy's wedding though, right?" _If I remember the story right, anyway.._

"Right.." Leon said softly, "But I'm rooting for Felix on this one too. Even though from what little I know of him, Brad is a nice guy."

"Seems like a bit much, making a whole new person for the sake of being with somebody," Ash said, "I get the logic behind it, but that opens up a can of worms best left closed." _You don't see me requesting a Vannie copy, do you? I do need to find a girlfriend at some point though. Candice was snatched up in a __flash__, so she's a no-go.. I need to go out on a hunt, it seems._

* * *

"We're baaack!" Penelope said as she and Vincent entered the castle and looked around curiously, "Hmm.. You think maybe they're in the code room again?" _No one is out here, so that must mean the guards are at the code room's entrance._

"Probably," Vincent said, "Want to check?"

"Yyyep," Penelope said, "Easier to find where everyone is by going in there anyhow."

The two made their way past the curtain behind the throne and down the 'secret' elevator.

"Princess," a guard said with a smile and nod, "Vincent."

"Yep, they're in there alright," Penelope said knowingly as she and Vincent went inside, "Thanks."

"Any time," the guard said with a nod. _I wonder if those guys from before got around to getting cards yet.._ He shrugged.

"Mom! Dad! You're home," Vanellope(AR) said excitedly as she ran to them for a hug, "So how was your day..te?" _Same thing, really._

"Good," Vincent said warmly, "And how was your day?"

"Hmm.. decent enough," Vanellope(AR) said with a chuckle, "Tammy and Felix are here, as you can see."

"Nice to see you guys again," Felix said cheerfully.

"Yeah," Calhoun said with a nod. _I wonder if he's still annoyed about Vannie going out with Ralph. The man was as stubborn as they come yesterday._

"So what are you guys working on now?" Penelope asked curiously.

"We just finished up what we **hope** will make this game completely safe for visitors," Rio said with a smile, "It basically makes visitors to this game dual citizens." _Doesn't even need an item for that now.._

"Well, safe enough for them to not game over permanently, at least," Satoru said pointedly, "They can still just as easily get hurt and die.."

"Well you know we can't just go around making people invulnerable.." Rio said pointedly, "That would put too much strain on even one person." _Everything has a limit that can't be crossed._ "Besides, it's best that people stay used to the limits they face in their own games, otherwise people might think the game is bugging out when they do something differently."

"And now I'm waiting for Ralph and Felix to get here to fix their memory," Satoru said with a sigh, "It's my fault for getting distracted in the first place.." _Ralph__ interrupted Rio and I last night to tell me about it.. So embarrassing. I think I covered it up well enough though. At worst he'll think I'm either an idiot or selfish. __But if__ I'm going to be programming I have to __g__o by priority._

"You **still** didn't do that?" Calhoun asked firmly, "They were assimilating 30 and a half **years** worth of memories and you left it be?!" _What kind of idiot are you?_

"The memories are getting **erased** regardless. So in the end, what harm is there?" Satoru asked defensively, "I think that making this game safe for **everybody** is a higher priority.." _You think I don't realize how they must be suffering right now? In the end it's **temporary**. What if someone had died without us knowing while I was piddling with memories that would get erased eventually anyway?_

Calhoun sighed while scratching her forehead. _That makes at least a little sense, but still.._

"So my counterpart remembers Tammy?" Felix asked worriedly, "Won't that make things worse with Brad?" _If she meets him before Brad.. Although I would prefer if she __**did**__ choose my counterpart.. That's just selfishness talking.._

"Damn it.." Calhoun muttered under her breath, "Well she can make up her own mind if she is somehow faced with a situation where she meets Felix before Brad.." _Even I don't know which one she would choose __in that event__. __She would no doubt stay with Brad regardless if she met __**him**__ first.._"She's a-"

"Ralph, and a few others would like to join you.." the guard said while peeking into the code room from the vault-like door. _Did I interrupt something?_

"Show them in," Rio said with a forced smile.

"We've got some really bad news.." Ralph said pointedly with a sigh as he and the others entered the code room. He scratched his head in thought. _You're not going to like this. None of us do.._

"Turbo is alive," Vanellope said in an annoyed tone. _I still feel uneasy from when he put that thing in the pocket of my hoodie.. Gives me the creeps thinking that he even got that close to me without me seeing him._

"**Turbo**?!" Felix asked anxiously, "Why are you so **calm**?! We gotta-" Calhoun covered his mouth. _Tammy!_

"I expect an explanation," Calhoun said firmly, "He of **all** people deserves to stay dead permanently." _So why is Ralph of all people not freaking out?_

"Ma'am!" Garret said with a salute, "He doesn't seem to be outright hostile at the moment, but all efforts to restrain and/or kill him were in vain.."

"What?" Calhoun asked seriously as she clenched her fists. _Even more now, why are they calm? So __**what**__ if he isn't hostile right now.._

"**I** punched him into a wall, **he** punched him into a wall," Ralph said while clenching his fists, "I punched him onto the ground, Leon and Garret shot at him, Jet did his force grip thing.. He wasn't hurt by any of it." _Deep breaths.._

"All of that should have had **some** effect.." Rio said confusedly, "There's no way he could have simply walked away unharmed.." _Or at least not for long.._

"He's a glitch too," Vannie said in an annoyed tone. _It's important information, regardless of if that explains it or not.._

"That doesn't really explain why he didn't get hurt though," Satoru said with a sigh. _Turbo.. He's certainly a cunning one._

"Either way, William and the other surge protectors are making sure he doesn't get into any games," Jubileena said, "He's apparently at some place called Tartarga because he wants to fight Ralph there in a few days."

"It doesn't make any sense to me either," Ralph said while shaking his head, "I've only been there a few times since the Turbo incident and nobody has ever approached me for a fight." _It was just Vanellope and I each time as well, but I don't see why that would change anything._

Ralph(AR) winced preemptively and said, "About what we discussed earlier.. I hate to interrupt, but it won't take long.." _He should have done this long ago.._

"Right," Satoru said seriously, "Can the rest of you leave for a moment? It's sort of private." _Even though we were just talking about it before you got here.._

"Candice, you stay.." Ralph(AR) said softly, "Okay?" _I want you to be here the whole time._

"Alright," Candice said softly with a forced smile._ I'm such a 'worry wart'.._

"Alright everybody.." Calhoun said with a sigh, "You heard 'em. Out!" _I know what this is about. I didn't expect Candice to be going out with the other Ralph though.. I guess we'll discuss Turbo with Rio._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who voted on the poll. In the end, Ralph(AR) and Candice being a main pairing won by a single vote (counting the guest vote). Ralph(AR) keeping the other memories was a resounding no, as I expected (but your opinions matter to me so I asked anyway). Apologies to those of you who don't care for the pairing. It won't be so bad xD.

By the way, I wrote an M-rated chapter for Rancis and Taffyta's first time (from chapter 102). It's chapter 3 of 'Honeyglows With Lemon'.


	122. Memory Erasure

"Have you decided to what extent you'd like me to do this?" Satoru asked as he pulled up Ralph(AR)'s file, "You said before that there were things you wanted to keep.." _I can't really blame that mindset, but it's sort of.._

"I just want to remember **her**," Ralph(AR) said with an earnest smile as he placed his hand on Candice's hip._ I hope she doesn't mind me doing that.. It hurts to even think of erasing everything else, but I won't even know any different once it's done._

"Well," Satoru said with a nod as he created a storage file to hold memories temporarily, "That simplifies things for the most part."_ I'll just make a copy of his memories of her, plus the ones from before he went into Fix-It Felix Jr.._

"Are you **sure** he'll remember me?" Candice asked worriedly as she subtly leaned into Ralph(AR)'s side, "Can I watch?" _That way I can see if it will mess up before it happens.._

"Just say yes, Satoru.." Ralph(AR) said with a smirk._ You are such a worry wart, Candice.._

Satoru scratched his head and sighed lightly. "Just don't get too close," he said softly, "I'm very territorial when I code." _I don't like people hovering over me. It makes me paranoid for some reason.._

"So is this going to make me pass out like it did the other Ralph that one time?" Ralph(AR) asked as Candice walked over to Satoru's side to get a good look, "I don't have the benefit of zero gravity in here.." _Not that it'd hurt that much if I passed out and fell to the floor._

"You want a bed to lay in?" Satoru asked incredulously, "You **might** pass out.. I don't know." _Hadn't thought about that._ "I've never deleted memories before."

"Yeah," Ralph(AR) said jokingly and shook his head, "And make it a **comfortable** one." _I'd like to get this over with already.._

"Okay, there you go," Satoru said as he popped a bed into existence beside Ralph(AR), "You'll forget everything else that happened today too. You sure that's okay?" _You won't remember about Turbo or anything like that anymore.._

"Wait.." Ralph(AR) said pointedly, "Make **sure** that I remember my talk with her on the way here." _Just so I definitely remember.._

"Well you did mean **every** memory of her, right?" Satoru asked incredulously. _I'm already copying that. I do know what I'm doing here, Ralph._

"Just making sure," Ralph(AR) said with a sigh as he laid on his back on the bed. _This is still pretty embarrassing, but if I'm going to pass out, I'd rather not pass out on the floor._

Satoru scanned through the text-based memories, searching for any listing Candice. _I'm tempted, but I shouldn't read them._

Candice nodded knowingly as she carefully observed Satoru maneuvering the small, blue holographic memory files into the storage file. _Seems right.. I almost want to try doing it myself though._

"Okay, now you're going to feel a little empty for a while.." Satoru said softly as he selected every last living memory in Ralph(AR)'s file. _Once these are all deleted, I'll add the others back in.._

"Okay.." Ralph(AR) said nervously as he furrowed his brow looking over to the two. _That's actually a little unsettling to hear.._ He crossed his arms. _I hope he knows what he's doing.._

With the press of a button, 30 and a half years worth of memories began to erase permanently from Ralph(AR)'s mind. He gasped suddenly, overtaken by an immense headache.

"Ralph!" Candice yelled worriedly as she ran to his side, putting her hand on his arm. _It'll be okay.._ "How long will this take?" She looked over to Satoru expectantly after Ralph(AR) quickly passed out from the pain.

"A few minutes.." Satoru said softly as he intently watched the erasure take place. _It'll be okay, Ralph.. You'll probably remember a little more than you expect, with the memories of Candice intact, but it should be fine like this.. Come to think of it he might still remember Turbo is alive, if she was there with him._

* * *

"So back to what we were talking about," Calhoun said pointedly, "Why are you so calm again?" _I'm sure the other Ralph will be fine, whatever they're doing.._

"He's been alive all this time," Ralph said with a disgruntled sigh, "We just figured that if he was **going** to do anything, he'd have done so already. He had the Konami Code and everything." Ralph handed Calhoun the Tapper's napkin. Really, there's nothing that would have stopped him had he tried anything." _That doesn't mean I **enjoy** the fact that he's out and about doing as he pleases. Far from it.._

"My biggest concern is that he's somehow invulnerable," Rio said worriedly as the group made their way out of the hallway leading to the code room and into the spacious elevator, "In games with invulnerable characters, it's more like everything else is programmed to not hurt those characters.." _It distributes the burden evenly. But if he's truly invulnerable, he shouldn't be able to even stand from a lack of energy. Let alone attack anyone.._

"I just want him locked up.." Vanellope said firmly as she hugged Ralph's head, "After that we can make him mortal again.." _He doesn't have to die, but I'll make him **sorry**._

"He likely has a password as well, even if we manage to catch him.." Calhoun said in an annoyed tone. _And I doubt it's 'Turbo-tastic!'_

"We could always make some fake memories for him.." Vannie said in an uncertain tone, "We could trick him into picking something up with the memories embedded into it. It would be just like when I used to see that memory of my parents whenever I would pick up their photo.." _I'm glad I don't have to do that to see them anymore. Although it's a little odd seeing them so young.._

"What do you mean?" Penelope asked softly as she gave Vannie a shoulder hug. _You make it seem like it's a bad memory.. Although I do like the idea._

"It's just that the memory it would show me is the one where you and Dad die.." Vannie said somberly as she hugged her mother tightly, "It's alright though since I have you guys back.." _I should have hugged you the moment I saw you again today.._

"Vannie.." Vincent said softly as he pulled them both into a hug. _I keep forgetting that to her, we're back from the dead.._

Vanellope sighed into Ralph's hair. _I'd hug them too, but I'm not about to leave this spot.._

"I'm **so** sorry.." Rio said while wiping her eyes, "I didn't mean for it to do something like that.." _I imagined something so graphic when thinking up her backstory.. But I never would have imagined the photo of her parents would do that to her..  
_

"It's okay," Vannie said with a somber chuckle as she gave Rio a hug, "Everything worked out, see?" _Sort of.._

"I know, but.." Rio said with a sniffle, "It's just **all** my fault. If I had been a better developer, none of this would have happened." _Every single one of your problems is because of **me**.. Satoru too, to an extent. Well, our real-world counterparts..  
_

"I'm glad it happened," Vanellope said firmly, "Sure, the first 15 years of my life stunk, but I've got it so good now.." _I don't wanna think about life without this shoulder seat, not even mentioning the lovable gorilla it's attached to._

"Me too," Ralph said with a chuckle. _30 years in my case.. I've got the best girlfriend, and the best daughter that this entire arcade can offer.  
_

"Same," Calhoun said as she smirked down at Felix over her crossed arms. _You say something too, Felix._

"Agreed," Felix said cheerfully, "No flex on this one, ma'am. You did a fine job.. Turbo is just an isolated case that could have happened to anybody." _If he wasn't so dead set on getting attention it might not have ever happened. How could she have known how he would react?_

"Games often have mistakes that fail to get weeded out before release," Calhoun said pointedly as she waved a hand around, "Like the **Cy-bugs**.." She pointed up. "But that's been taken care of." _We at least know they won't be getting out of the game now._

They left the elevator and went to the dining room to sit and talk.

* * *

There was a knock on the castle doors of Sugar Rush 2. Sour Bill had been leisurely sitting in King Candy's throne since nobody was around. '_Sour Bill! Someone's at the door, you know?!'_ He chuckled dryly and shook his head as he got up to answer the door. _Hold on.._

"Yes?" Sour Bill asked in a dry monotone as he looked up, but not very high.

"We're here to see King Candy," Zorba said apprehensively while fidgeting with his hands, "Jet said he would be looking to meet with us."

"Food Fight chefs?" Sour Bill asked. _You do fit their description._

"Yeah, that's us," Angelo said with a nod before putting his hands in the pockets of his uniform. _So they **were** expecting us._

Sour Bill opened the door to let them inside and said, "Please wait here." He went inform King Candy, who was hard at work in the code room. He returned shortly afterward, but not before rolling his eyes in secret along the way. "Follow me.. He would like your assistance." _I should have known._

The three small chefs followed Sour Bill to the code room curiously.

Zorba swallowed hard at the unfamiliarity of the trip. _This is creepy.._

"Yes, yes! Come have a swim," King Candy said with an excited laugh, "It takes a little getting used to of course."

"You sure you want people like us in here?" Jacques asked knowingly, "I've had Jet in my head, you know?" _I haven't done anything like that since then, but the basic idea of what to do is still in my head.._

"You couldn't cause any harm in here," King Candy said with a laugh. _I made sure to add a general password lock to all of the remaining files. Not 'Have some candles' though, that one was cracked once already._

"If you say so," Jacques said with a shrug as the three chefs made their way closer to King Candy, "So what took you so long? No offense, but we've been waiting ever since Jet brought it up during the first Bad-Anon meeting we went to."

"I apologize for that, truly," King Candy said with a sigh as he shook his head and stroked his forehead, "I've never programmed a restaurant before and didn't know where to begin.. That and then there were all of these other people who needed help that I knew how to help right away.. And then there was the matter of programming a character from scratch which took quite some time. We just woke her yesterday.." _I should have gotten with them sooner.._

"So you're making people from scratch now?" Angelo asked and crossed his arms. _For what reason?_

"Yes, my counterpart from the first Sugar Rush game wanted a daughter, in case you were wondering.." King Candy said with a sigh, "So onto how I can help **you**.." _I wonder what Candice is up to right about now. I'd have liked to see her try her hand at coding some more.._

"Really there's only a few things we need," Jacques said pointedly, "First of all we want to be made part of the game, of course." _He made a daughter? That's not as sinister as what I was expecting.._

"Easily done," King Candy said warmly, "And of **course** the restaurant." _That's what I need assistance with.._

"Right," Jacques said with a nod, "We want it to be fitting for a five star restaurant, of course. The best ingredients we can get here without worry of them running out as well."

"A-and we want to be able to have food fights without having to worry about the mess afterwards," Zorba said nervously, "M-maybe make me taller too.."

"Height is good, yeah.." Jacques said while nudging Zorba in the arm. _Let's be careful not to ask for too much though.._

"Okay," King Candy said with a laugh. _Am I the only person satisfied to stay my original height around here? Well, there's Felix as well.._

"Well since we're going with that," Angelo said, "Make a few holes in the ground that act as elevators to the kitchen below. That's how it was in our game.." _It may not make sense, but that's how the game was programmed._

"Holes in the floor.." King Candy said confusedly.. "Well hang on, we could just take a shortcut about this since you're here.. It would be a little invasive though."

"What do you mean by '**invasive**'?" Jacques asked while narrowing his eyes in suspicion. _What are you suggesting?_

"What I mean is, if we take a look at one of your earliest memories," King Candy said seriously, "I could just get the **exact** description of the place from there and tweak it to your liking after."

"You can do that?" Zorba asked curiously, though still nervous at the thought. _That would be perfect, but.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Oh, Sour Bill.. I could only imagine the kind of fit King Candy would have if he saw Sour Bill sitting in his throne. In case you've missed it and are interested, I've been uploading my other story, 'Reload' more often!


	123. Hero's Cuties, Adrenaline Rush Edition

"**Can** I do it?" King Candy asked with a giddy laugh, "Oh please, that much is actually not that difficult. I did erase all memory of code rooms from Jet's memory, you know?" _Of course he's found out about them again when he went to Dragon's Lair, but he's good now, and he still doesn't know the code to any code room._

"You know what? Fine, do it," Jacques said with a shrug before crossing his arms again, "If you were going to do anything against us, you'd have done it by now anyway once you were told we were here." _Paranoia isn't going to do us any good._

"That's the spirit," King Candy said cheerfully as he bade them to follow in the direction of their files which had downloaded themselves into the code room when they first arrived in the game. "So you all want to be taller, correct? How tall?" He chuckled warmly at the prospect.

"Well as tall as the racers would be good," Angelo said with a knowing glance at his fellow chefs, "I figure that would be the easiest to accomplish."

"Alright, just give me a moment," King Candy said as he began the few minutes long process of making the trio of chefs a part of the game, and taller.

"This will definitely take some getting used to," Jacques said in amazement as he moved his long arms and inspected his hands before looking at his legs.

"Now, about the restaurant," King Candy said warmly, "We'll have to go to the memory files for this." He swam in the direction of the 'Citizens' Memory' files, since they were now part of the game.

"Of course," Jacques said with a nod as they followed him, "I never really knew you could do something like this though. Can you really just create a place by plugging in a description somewhere?" _It seems unrealistic at best._

"Well the rest of the game is nothing but lines of code, after all," King Candy said plainly as he pulled up Jacques' memory file, "It helps to think about this as an advanced form of code that only the very core of the game can translate. Have you ever noticed people and places in games that had no actual role in gameplay? It's the same thing happening there. Players can't even make it inside this castle, you know?"

"How do you keep someone from abusing this kind of power?" Zorba asked apprehensively, "Aren't you basically God here?" _What would prevent __**you**__ from going Turbo?_

"Well there's limitations of course," King Candy said with a laugh, "I would imagine that even Zeus from Altered Beast isn't **really** immortal, despite being a god of Ancient Greece.. That's not to say he wouldn't be extremely powerful all the same." _Does he think I made myself a god? That's pretty funny. I won't correct him though._

After a few minutes of fiddling around with the restaurant's files, and removing the Konami Code from Jacques' memories, the three chefs decided it would be best to check out the Kart Bakery before heading off to look at their restaurant, which was located at the far end of town next to Taffy's.

Jacques sighed on the way out of the castle. _Figures he wouldn't let me keep that code in my head. I had no intention of ever using it anyway, __so it's no loss__._ "So do you guys want a kart each, or should we share one?" _The view from up here is a lot better, that's for sure.._

* * *

Shanks couldn't help but yell, "Weeeeeeeeeewwwwww!" as he slammed on the gas while heading in the direction of one of his favorite areas. _We'll be there soon, ya'll._

"Calm down, Shanks," Taffy said with a nervous laugh, "What's gotten into you?"

"Just a bit of fun, is all," Shanks said with a laugh, "Whatever it is with this Terrance guy, he ain't gonna be around for long, I reckon. So why worry about it?" _And it's not like he's done anything yet when he had the perfect chance. __He hardly acknowledged the rest of us in the first place._

"I suppose so.." Taffy said with a chuckle as she leaned her head on her arm which was resting against the door, "So were you disappointed that our little girl came to sleep in our bed last night?" _She's such a little sweetheart.. I couldn't possibly say no to her._

Shanks laughed and said, "Yes and no.. I wasn't expectin' anything on our first night goin' out anyway.. She's a good girl, and I can't blame her for wantin' to spend as much time with us as possible." _Although it'd have been right nice __with just the two of us, __Taffyta has gone so long without either one of us in her life that it wouldn't be right to turn her away._

"Well don't worry so much about expectations, if you know what I mean.." Taffy said with a smirk, "I wouldn't have shared a bed with you at all if I wasn't going to share something else."

"I'm glad that back window's closed," Shanks beamed with hardly contained excitement, "I somehow doubt you'd be talkin' like that otherwise."

"You got that right," Taffy scoffed playfully and looked out of her window. Giant chickens the size of a monster truck were pecking at ears of corn that were so large and heavy that the thin stalks they were growing on bent down to the ground as if they were growing some kind of melon. _I wonder where he's taking us.._

* * *

"Your dad sure is having fun," Rancis said teasingly as he lightly tugged at Taffyta's waist, "I wonder where he's taking us.." _Come on. __L__ean in a bit more, Taffyta. Nothing to be embarrassed about.._

_Fine.._ "Who knows?" Taffyta asked in a rhetorical tone while easing into Rancis' side, "We'll find out soon enough.. So what was it like having them living at home with you, Taffyta?" _It's better than continuously calling her 'little me'.._

"It was great," little Taffyta beamed sheepishly, "It was the best I've slept since getting plugged in.. After running around a lot to tire myself out, of course.." _It's too embarrassing to tell them that I slept in our parents' bed last night though.. I can't keep that up. It's not fair to them._

"Those revitalizing chews are something else, huh?" little Rancis said knowingly as he caught eyes with his older counterpart. _How did you two burn off all that energy, I wonder? I bet you weren't running around like what she and I did.._

"They're the best food item this game has to offer if you ask me," Rancis beamed shamelessly. _He may be a kid, but I guess he knows what us adults do behind closed doors. He's been around 15 years, after all.._

"Revitalizing chews?" Jet asked with a curious laugh. _What's so funny about them? He wants to bust out laughing, I can tell.._

"Oh, don't get him **started** on them," Taffyta said as she rolled her eyes. _I don't care __**how many**__ you buy, we're not doing something crazy like that again unless it's a special occasion.._

"They're these small candies that Shanks let us try yesterday," Rancis said excitedly, "Packed into those little things is enough energy to keep you alert and free of fatigue for at least a few hours unless you're **really** pushing yourself.." _Come to think of it, your mom makes taffy as a hobby. You think she knows the recipe for them?_

"I see.." Crumbelina said with an embarrassed grin as she hugged Jet with an arm. _So they __'__did it__' __after eating some__, in other words.._

* * *

"Can of worms or not, what's done is done," Felix(AR) said seriously, "I love her with every pixel and that's what matters most to me right now.." _I don't really know where she is right now though.._

"Right.." Ash said, "Well don't take what I said too seriously. I didn't really mean anything bad by it.." _I need to internalize my thoughts a bit more often.._

"Well we're here, guys," Felix(AR) said as he got out of his truck and looked at his fellow 'selfish team' members, "I'll be heading to the diner over there first." He pointed just inside the town. "We'll meet up there later on when you're ready."

"Got it," Leon said with a grin as he carried his cruiser on his back and jumped out of Felix(AR)'s truck, soon joined by Minty.

"Well, Ash and I still need to get those cards we were told about. So we're going do that," Gary said as he jumped out of the truck. _One of those towers.._

Felix(AR) made his way to the small diner, sticking his hands in his pants pockets along the way. _I wonder how I should respond when I __**do**__ see her, whether she chooses me or not. _He could feel his stomach lurch at the thought of Brad being chosen over him. _I'm sure Brad is a nice guy.. I shouldn't hold it against either of them if Tammy __does__ choose him. She was made specifically for him, after all.._

Felix(AR) sighed and pushed open the door to the diner with one hand, the other still in his pants pocket. The small jingle of the bell attached to the door went completely unnoticed by him. He tore himself away from his thoughts and looked up at the waitress with a warm, forced smile and nod. He opened his mouth to greet her, though before he could get any words out, she pointed to his left towards a booth while holding an empty tray. It was the same booth he sat in the day before.

Felix(AR)'s smile grew into a genuine, grateful smile as he slowly made his way to the tough blonde sitting with her back facing them. _Is this good news? Or is she here to inform me she's chosen Brad? She could also just be here for coffee.._

Calhoun(AR) heard his steel-toed shoe-clad feet approaching. _I don't know how I know it's him, but those footsteps are unmistakable. Play it cool.. I've already made up my mind on this. _She took another sip of unsweetened coffee._ I wonder if I finished my coffee last time I was here. Not important.._

"Mind if I sit here, Tammy?" Felix(AR) asked with a nervous smile as his heart and stomach did somersaults.

"Go ahead," Calhoun(AR) said with a smirk, though it held behind it various feelings of guilt and unease. _I think I made the right decision, but still.. This has me worried._

"S-so how has your day been?" Felix(AR) asked apprehensively as he took a seat across from her and clasped his hands on the surface of the table nervously. _Tell it to me straight, Tammy. Please.._

Calhoun(AR) sighed and licked the inside of her cheek. _How do I tell him? I did choose him, so why is this so hard on me? _"Well I met Brad today, and had lunch with him," she said seriously before looking Felix(AR) in the eye.

Felix swallowed hard. _You.. Had lunch with him.._ He nodded. _So you've chosen by now, but __**who**__? You've got me at the edge of my seat, Tammy. It might as well be a cliff.._

"It's just not going to work out.." Calhoun(AR) said as she blew her hair out of her eye, "**Him** and I, I mean.."

"Y-you mean..?" Felix(AR) asked with a hopeful grin as he unclasped his hands and gripped the table. _**Please**__ say yes, Tammy!_

Calhoun(AR) chuckled warmly, and softly said, "Yeah.. If you're still interested, I mean." _I can tell you are, though.. _She smiled, yet felt guilty all the same. _I just feel so bad for Brad.. Especially after my counterpart went through all the trouble of creating me for __**him**__.._

Felix(AR)'s heart leapt into his throat. He swallowed hard and in the same soft tone, he said, "Y-yeah, of course.." _I don't see how there could possibly be any other way for me to feel, even if I had these memories removed beforehand._

* * *

**Author's Note:** D'awww.


	124. Forgetting and Remembering

Felix(AR) beamed as he finally eased into his seat. _Jiminy Jaminy.._ "H-how did Brad take the news?" he asked softly, fully aware of the gravity of the situation. _I fully deserve it, but I hope he doesn't hate me for this.._

"He'll be fine," Calhoun(AR) said while contemplatively looking down into her coffee, "He knows as little about me as I do about him.. But you.." She chuckled and slightly shook her head. "My original gave me a wealth of knowledge on the other Felix. I'm sure at least some of that made it over to you."

"Well, right now, all of it has.." Felix(AR) said sheepishly, "I'm almost scared to have it removed though. I don't want to forget about you.. Or, well technically it would be her.." He shook his head. "I have to though. I can't let myself keep getting mixed up like this."

"I'll be the first one you see when it's over, how about that?" Calhoun(AR) asked wryly, "I can't have you getting me mixed up with her. It's best if you start fresh, right?" _I guess I should stop thinking of him so much as the other Felix too.._

"Yeah," Felix(AR) said softly, "I just wonder.. You think we'd have made it to this point had I not been glitching yesterday?" _I have this feeling deep down that I'd have fallen for her instantly regardless.._

"Possibly," Calhoun(AR) said with a shrug, "Brad was talking to the soldiers in Hero's Duty all day yesterday, or so he says." _So __you __and I likely would have met regardless and had a chat.._ "So what did you have planned today?" _Or did you __just __come in here hoping to find me? You would definitely do that, __wouldn't you__?_

"Well I was hoping to find you.." Felix(AR) said sheepishly, "I came here with Leon, Minty, Ash and Gary, but they're off doing their own things."

"I see," Calhoun(AR) said with a smirk, "So how's Ralph doing?"

"Which one?" Felix(AR) asked jokingly.

"Both of 'em," Calhoun(AR) said while rolling her eyes slightly, "Your counterpart and the others too, while we're at it. I still haven't met them yet."

"Well, Ralph, from **this** game, just started going out with Candice.." Felix(AR) said with a smile, "I'm sure you were programmed to know who she is.."

"Yeah," Calhoun(AR) said with a smile, "She's a good girl. He certainly lucked out.. Is he still..?" _You know. Does he still remember Vannie?_

"Yeah, but like me, I'm sure he's getting his counterpart's memories removed," Felix(AR) said softly with a nod.

"Would you like a refill?" the waitress beamed as she walked over, "Can I get you anything?"

"Another coffee, thanks," Calhoun(AR) said with a smirk. _Why does it make __**you**__ so happy?_

"I'll have some coffee as well," Felix(AR) said with a grin, "Lots of cream and sugar, please."

The waitress walked off, humming to herself. _I'm happy for the little guy. I wonder what the other one is like.._

"I haven't seen our counterparts at all today," Felix(AR) said as he shrugged with one shoulder, "They might be at the castle. That's where Ralph, Ralph, Vanellope, Vannie, Candice, Garret, and Jubileena headed." _It's a long list of names, I know.._ He chuckled.

* * *

Ralph(AR) opened his eyes once the searing pain in his head left him. It was so bright that he had to shield his eyes. _This again?_ He found himself in the Junkyard of Sugar Rush, except not **really**.

"What do you mean, 'this again?'" Ralph asked with a laugh from behind him, "This didn't happen to **you** before, it was '**me**'." Ralph was sitting on a jawbreaker with his arms crossed in playful annoyance.

"I **remember** it though, you know that," Ralph(AR) said while rolling his eyes, "So you're not going to bother with the pretense?" _Not going to act like everything is normal __and lead me all over__?_

"You're losing everything right now, so why bother?" Ralph asked wryly, "You won't remember this exchange.."

"So are you just here to **annoy** me, or?" Ralph(AR) asked in playful annoyance to mock his 'counterpart'. _Who are you really? Or __**what**__?_

"Pretty much," Ralph said with a laugh, "Anyone you wanna see one last time before you forget about them? I can do that much for you."

"So I won't remember **any** of this.." Ralph(AR) said in a somber tone as his heart fell, "What's the point?"

"True enough," Ralph said with a sigh, "Hey, at least you'll remember Candice and the others you met before, right? And well, Vannie and the others won't be fully forgotten since Candice was there too.."

"Is there a way to stop Turbo? Not like there's any point in me asking, I guess.." Ralph(AR) said as he took a seat on a nearby jawbreaker.

"Oh, Ralph," Turbo said with a laugh as he drove up in King Candy's kart, "As if I even need to be stopped. Or should I call you 'other Ralph'? 'Adrenaline Rush Ralph'?" He laughed and shook his head.

"What makes **you** so sure?" Ralph(AR) asked bitterly, "You're just in my head." _Why is he of all people showing up?_

"Oh **please**, everybody should have figured out by now that I'm just trolling you guys.." Turbo said with a laugh, "Truth be told, the real me, if you want to call him that, is just here to play."

"Like I can trust anything **you** say, even in my head.." Ralph(AR) said as he stood up and towered over the racer. He turned his attention back to his counterpart and pointed at Turbo. "Get rid of him and bring Candice out, will you? I'm doing this for **her** sake, after all." _She's probably worried sick out there right now.. _Turbo vanished into a puff of smoke.

"You don't have to be so blunt about it, Ralph," Candice said with a laugh as she hugged his back, "And I'm **not** a worry wart. It does bother me when you say that.."

"A lot of good that information will do me here," Ralph(AR) said with a sigh as he put his hands over hers on his chest, "This is all being **erased**, you know?" _Everything.. Until the memories of you are added back.._

"I changed my mind," Ralph said with a smirk, "I'll let you remember this bit. So, anything else you **really** want to remember?"

"No, absolutely **nothing** from '**your**' life other than Candice.." Ralph(AR) said firmly. _That means __**no**__ memory of dating Vannie, __**no**__ memory of Vanellope being my daughter.._ He winced.

"A bit difficult, **that**.." Ralph said plainly, "'I' was dating her in the memories you'll keep of us programming Candice, you know? Whose place do you think you'd take in that memory?"

"Well there must be **something** we can do about that.." Ralph(AR) said worriedly "Can't **you** do something? I can tell you're not 'just' Ralph.." _If you were just __my mind's__ representation of Ralph, you wouldn't be able to 'let me remember' anything.._

"Who do you think he is then, silly?" Candice asked with a laugh.

"I don't know, but you **all** know something I don't, and I don't like it.." Ralph(AR) said in an annoyed tone.

"Relax, Ralph," Ralph said with a laugh, "I'm just having a bit of fun with you."

"I gotta go soon, Ralph.. Can I get one last hug before I go?" Vanellope asked somberly after glitching in front of him.

Ralph(AR) swallowed hard and his eyes welled with tears. _Kid.._ "Of course.." he choked out, "Come here.." He opened his arms wide as she jumped into his chest. "How much longer do you have?" He sniffled as he held her tightly. _I'm going to miss this so much.. Even if I don't remember. Somehow, I will.._

"Not long.. But it'll be okay," Vanellope said with a laugh as tears streamed down her cheeks. She hugged him back tightly. "I'll still be there, remember? We'll still be friends.. Is there even any doubt about that?"

"I guess not.." Ralph(AR) said with a somber chuckle, "You just mean so much to me. That I'm letting it go like this.." _It's a crime.._

"I know.." Vanellope said with a sniffle, "I know, Ralph.."

"You gonna say goodbye to me too, before I go?" Vannie asked softly, "Well, it's not **really** goodbye, but.."

"I might as well," Ralph(AR) said while rolling his eyes before wiping them as Vanellope hopped down onto a small nearby jawbreaker, crossing her arms. _I'll miss you __**both**__ so much.._

"You can be a big baby in times like these," Vannie said with a laugh as she tightly hugged him while trying to hide her tears by shoving her face into his shoulder, "It's **okay** though. I introduced you to a nice girl, right? Second best in the whole arcade.."

"Vannie!" Candice protested.

"I'm just playing.." Vannie said wryly.

"Sorry, 'Dad'.. Time's up.." Vanellope said somberly, "One **last**, last hug?" Without waiting for his obvious response, she jumped into his warm, loving embrace one last time, a hug that lasted a mere 3 seconds before both she and Vannie faded away into bits of blue code in his arms.

Ralph(AR) clutched his arms around himself tightly, though he didn't know for what reason. _Why?_ He sobbed quietly and fell to his knees. _Why do I __suddenly __feel so __**empty**__?_

"It's okay, Ralph.." Candice said softly as she slowly knelt down in front of him and tenderly stroked his cheeks, wiping away the streams of tears, "Are you **really** empty?"

"Candice.." Ralph(AR) said earnestly as he gently pulled the two of them to their feet and hugged her tightly, "Thank you.." _I feel as though I've forgotten something so important. But thank Konami I didn't forget you.._

Ralph sighed and got up from his jawbreaker and walked over to the two and softly said, "You're welcome, Ralph.." He placed his hand on Ralph(AR)'s shoulder. "It's not so easy when I, too am forced to 'stick to the program'. But for what it's worth, I did what I could.. I think it's about time **you** woke up though.."

* * *

"Ralph!" Candice said with a hopeful smile as Ralph(AR) groggily stirred from his 'sleep', "Easy.. How's your head?.. Do you remember me?" She bit her lower lip in worried anticipation as Ralph(AR) shut his eyes tightly and slid his legs out of the bed and onto the marble floor of Adrenaline Rush's code room.

Ralph(AR) cradled the bridge of his nose with his fingers and heaved a deep, shaky breath. "Everything is.. different.." he said softly as tears stained his cheeks. _I can't place it at all. __I lost something.._

"Ralph.." Candice said softly as she sat next to him and rubbed his back, "It'll be okay, just take it slow.." _It hurts to see him like this.. He still hasn't answered either.._

"Candice.." Ralph(AR) said softly as the memory was finally becoming clear again. _That name.. She's __**important**__.. But how? Think.._

"I'm right here, Ralph, see?" Candice said with an earnest smile as she gently turned his face to hers. _Do you remember me?_

Ralph(AR) gazed into her eyes lovingly after a moment as the pieces finally stitched themselves together. Without a word he smiled and hugged her tightly. _I don't know what all that was about just yet.. But whatever it was, it was worth it for her.._

"Thank Konami.." Candice said with a relieved chuckle, "I was so worried.." _You gonna call me a worry wart again?_

"There's nothing wrong with that.." Ralph(AR) said wryly as he rubbed her back. _It's okay, Candice, see?_

Candice long blinked as a few tears gently rolled down her cheeks. _I wonder how much he remembers.._

* * *

**Author's Note: **I figured I would do another dream sequence, and this was the result.. I know it's mostly Ralph(AR) and Candice this chapter.. I apologize to those of you who don't care for the pairing, but I **really** wanted to get all that in one chapter.


	125. Tartarga Talk, and Shanks' Destination

Ralph(AR) and Candice sat there a few moments just making sure he remembered a few things of immediate concern. It took a moment, going from empty to having memories again, but he somehow managed to sort it all out in his head.

Satoru cleared his throat. _I think I've been rather patient, but.._ "There was one file that refused to delete itself no matter what I tried," he said with a sigh, "I hope that doesn't cause too much trouble.." _It even has a password on it that I wouldn't be able to crack in this lifetime.._

"It's fine like this," Ralph(AR) said with a smirk, "Anyway we'd better go meet back up with the others.."

"Yeah, don't want them to think something happened.." Candice said with a smile as she hugged him from the side again before they got up to rejoin the others. _Because I know at least one of them is going to ask what happened._

* * *

"So we'll be going there in a few days then," Ralph said with a sigh, "It's a fun place too." _I just hope Terranbo doesn't have counter measures for our plans of dealing with him._

"I've **been** wanting to go back there," Vanellope said with a smile, "There's something I've been meaning to get, but I'll still need a little help.."

"And what's that, sweetie?" Vincent asked with a smile. _At least the matter of Turbo might get settled easily if all goes as planned. I'm a little uneasy about her going there, but Ralph is certainly reliable in regards to her protection._

"Just a pet," Vanellope said sheepishly, "They have really cool ones, but you need to buy them over there with something called GPs.. I guess it's short for 'gold pieces'." _They're so pretty.. _"I wouldn't be able to get those on my own." _Like I can kill monsters.._ She wrinkled her nose in annoyance._  
_

"I know the kind you want, too," Ralph said with a chuckle, "Why didn't you just say so before when we were there?" _You eyed them pretty intensely when you insisted we check out Dr. Pao's pet shop.  
_

"I wasn't sure I'd be able to take proper care of it, **adoi**.." Vanellope said wryly, "Taking care of something so tiny all by myself.." _It was way before I asked you to be my dad, you know?_

"What about Sour Bill?" Ralph asked with a chuckle, "I could just imagine him taking care of a pet.." _I'm not good with tiny things like that, of course._

"No way," Vannie said with a laugh, "He's too big of a grump for that, so is Salty Phil.."

"Well Spicy Jill wouldn't have minded, right?" Ralph asked with a chuckle. _She's the nicest out of the bunch._

"I wouldn't want to trouble her.." Vanellope said with a sigh. _There was really no other option.._

"Well we'll get it soon, alright?" Ralph said playfully as he nudged her in the arm softly with a finger.

"I can hardly wait!" Vanellope said excitedly, "Now as long as You-know-who doesn't mess things up it'll be perfect." _I don't feel like using either of his monickers._

"Can I go too?" Vanellope(AR) asked sheepishly, "I want a pet too.." _I don't know what kind of pet she's getting, but I'll make up my mind what kind to get if they take me.._

"Sure thing, sweetie," Vincent said with a smile. _How could I say no?_

"We'll go with them, alright?" Penelope said wryly. _I want to see the place too anyways._

Ralph(AR) cleared his throat as he and Candice entered the dining room. _We're back.._

"Welcome back," Felix said cheerfully, "How did things go? Everything okay?"_ I'm being a little too nosy.._

"Yeah, it's all good," Ralph(AR) said with a smile, "Nothing to worry about." _Okay, name check.. Vannie, Vanellope, Vanellope, Calhoun, Garret, Jubileena..._

"I'm glad to hear it," Queen Lemma said and chuckled warmly. _I still believe Satoru and Rio should have fixed them up first. Luckily he seems to be in good form after all that, however._

Ralph(AR) and Candice sat down in two available chairs side by side.

"So when do we eat?" Ralph(AR) asked wryly, "I'm starving." _I can't believe I already forgot most of that vivid dream I had. There had to be something important in it.._

"Soon," Queen Lemma said with a warm, knowing chuckle. _Any minute now in fact._

"Hey Ralph," Vanellope called out to Ralph(AR) excitedly, "Are you gonna come to Tartarga with us in a few days?" _No point in going there yet. I don't want to tempt You-know-who.._

"Sure thing, kid," Ralph(AR) said with a smirk, "Sounds like a pretty interesting place." _She's a good kid._

"I don't think Leon would forgive us if we don't get him his monster truck as soon as possible," Garret said with a laugh. _He practically needs it._

"He'll have it before then, trust me," Ralph(AR) said knowingly, "Especially if you guys are bringing mentos every day.. That's almost half what you need right there with 10 of them. I checked this morning and they're over 4,000 each." _Not sure what the exact number was. I could check again on my phone right now, but not at the table.._

"Leon will be thrilled," Jubileena said with a knowing laugh. _I'm sure Jet and Crumbelina will get something good too, they're headed off with Shanks, after all.._

* * *

Leon sneezed and sniffed. _Must be pollen in the air or something._

Minty wrinkled her nose. "Bless you.. But I had no idea mentos would get us **that** much," she said excitedly and hugged herself against Leon as they aimlessly wandered the town while deciding on their next destination, "At this rate we'll have our truck by tomorrow." _You'd better let me drive it too._

Leon laughed and said, "Yeah.. So let's see. We got some more of those bags, a couple phones.. What else did we need?" _Garret, Jubileena, Jet and Crumbelina can wait for phones of their own.._

"A small bite to eat wouldn't hurt.." Minty said sheepishly, "I know we're saving up, but we don't have to be so stingy now that we know how fast it is to get cherries." _We still have 35,000 or so.._

"I guess it couldn't hurt.." Leon said with a chuckle, "Let's just be sure to collect some stuff to make up the difference later." _It's nice, it being just to two of us._

"Agreed," Minty said with a giggle, "So let's go to that bistro place again. That place is nice." _Remember, Brain. Nothing too expensive.._

* * *

Taffy slid the back window of the monster truck at Shanks' request.

"So I reckon you know how to fight, right?" Shanks asked with a smirk, "Aimin' that at Rancis and Jet mostly.. It'd help a little, where we're goin'. Figured I would ask."_ I know fer sure Jet knows at least a little something.._

"Is it that dangerous where we're going?" little Taffyta asked worriedly, "Is the game safe yet? I don't wanna die, you know?" _It shouldn't have to be stated. Even if we would somehow regenerate, dying still hurts a lot.._

Shanks laughed and said, "Well it's safe so long as you keep yer distance. Don't worry, darlin'. I won't let anything happen to you." _Prolly not the best idea to bring the little ones at all regardless, but I want 'em to see me work.. They'll be safe in the truck.  
_

"I can fight a **bit**, but it all depends on what would need to be fought.." Jet said worriedly. He wasn't alone in feeling a sharp pang of sudden anxiety shooting through him. _Shouldn't we be **certain** that the game is safe for us before doing something so reckless?_

"I've never fought anything before, except hunger," Rancis said with a nervous chuckle, "Although I did **almost** get into a fight once.." _I wonder whatever happened to that Stormtrooper. Well, I guess he probably went to E-Z Livin' with the_ others..

"Wow," Shanks said with a laugh, "Well there's plenty of time.. Just keep back then, if trouble arises." _I thought fer sure he'd have gotten into at least a few fights keepin' guys away from Taffyta.._

"What **kind** of trouble though?" little Rancis asked confusedly, "These animals, monsters, whatever you want to call them don't really even seem hostile." _Except for that orangeboar that Ralph killed yesterday. Whatever happened to it, I wonder?_

"That's 'cause we're still in the truck," Shanks said plainly, "To answer yer question: 'Here there be dragons', as the sayin' goes. Literal dragons." _Breathin' fire and everything._

"You're going to fight **dragons**?!" Crumbelina asked out of shock. _Count me out of that. I can't even fight in the first place.._

"Well there's only **one** dragon," Shanks said with a laugh, "There's also eggs worth a pretty penny, but dragon meat is S-rank, number 5." He grinned widely. _It may be the lowest S-rank ingredient, but it's the fifth-best ingredient in the entire game. **And** the fifth-most expensive._

"And we're fine so long as we just stay back?" Jet asked confusedly, "I expected S-rank ingredients to be more.. guarded."

"Well yeah, it's guarded alright," Shanks said with a smirk as he stopped the truck a good distance away from a pale yellow, mostly inactive volcano, "You could say that at least. The nest is at the top of the volcano here." _It's a beauty, ain't it?_

The volcano was at least twice as large as Diet Cola Mountain in scale and had no plateau at the top aside from the dragon's nest itself. Instead it was sharp and jagged in its entirety and small streams of a red, chunky liquid leaked out in several places.

"Three guesses what its made of," Shanks said with a grin as the passengers in his truck bed all stood up.

Rancis briefly opened his mouth in contemplation as he held up little Taffyta so she could see, while Taffyta similarly held little Rancis. _The answer is at the tip of my tongue.._

"Are those tortilla chips?" Taffyta asked as she squinted over the top of the monster truck. _That's what it looks like to me.. And maybe salsa leaking out._

"And salsa," Taffy said with a smirk, "Yep, that's it." _It'd be a lot more obvious if we were closer. But if we **were** closer..  
_

"I knew she'd guess it," little Taffyta said plainly before smirking proudly._ Dad told me about it last night at home._

"I almost did," Rancis said with a frown, "It was at the tip of my tongue, promise.." _You believe me, right Taffyta?_

"Don't feel so bad, Rancis," Jet said with a laugh. _I was too busy looking at the top to guess._

"Now, the dragon **should** be way at the top in its nest," Shanks said seriously, "We'll know fer sure once I get closer.." _I didn't kill it, but someone else could have._ "Once it's dead, all you gotta worry about is climbing up to the top."

"Well climbing is easy enough," little Rancis said with a smirk, "Just no dragons for me.." _I bet it could probably eat any one of us in one bite if given the chance.. How does he plan to kill it?_

* * *

**Author's Note:** I wanted a volcano to be in Adrenaline Rush, and I figured, well.. Salsa can be hot, and it's red like lava. And tortillas go with salsa, so yeah.


	126. We Want to Help

"We don't go on enough solo dates," Minty said sheepishly as the two nearly finished eating at Bistro Baklava. _We should do this more often.._

"I agree," Leon said with a laugh through a bite, tucking the food into his cheek briefly, "Think we should bring it up with the others? I'm sure they would be eager to have more time alone as well.."

Minty scrunched her shoulders and leaned back into her chair then said, "I don't know, it just seems to like they might take it personally." _Like we don't want to be around them anymore or something.._

"Why would they take it like that?" Leon asked with another laugh, "C'mon, we're all adults. They know what it's like.. Let's just make sure to get my monster truck first."

"**Our**, Leon," Minty said playfully, "We **are** going to share, you know?" _We're **all** pooling our money into it._

Leon scoffed playfully while rolling his eyes and said, "You're right.. At least until we all have one, right?"

"Right," Minty said with a cheerful nod, "So have you thought of a name for it yet?" _They all seem to have a name.._

"Well we've seen 'The Hunter', 'The Wrecker', and 'The Fixer'," Leon said contemplatively as he leaned back into his chair as well, and rested an arm over the back of it, "I think 'The Soldier' would be appropriate. What do you think?"

"While that may be true, what about Garret's when he eventually gets one?" Minty asked curiously, "And then there's also Tammy and her counterpart in this game.." _They can't all be called 'The Soldier', right? Well I guess they can, but it would be unoriginal.._

"I don't know," Leon said with a grin, "**Someone** has to take the name though. Or would you prefer the two of us share one permanently and come up with a name based on that?" _A truck just for the two of us.._

"I don't mind," Minty said sheepishly, "I don't see the point in **all** of us owning one to be honest.. But what would we call ours?" _I'm not that good at coming up with names.._

"I'm no good with names either.." Leon said while shifting his jaw in thought, "Hmm, how about 'The **Minty** Soldier'?" He snorted and shook his head as he beamed a wide grin. "Sorry.. I do kind of like the way it sounds, but.." _I don't even know why I find it so funny.._

Minty subtly shook her head and tried to hide the sheepish grin that stretched across her face with her hands. "You're bad.." she said as she tried to force the smile down into a straight face to no avail. _It's a good enough working title.. We can come up with something better later, maybe. _"We'll have to come up with a design too like what Ralph and Felix from here have on theirs.."

* * *

Felix(AR) eagerly drank his coffee which was loaded with sugar and cream. _I feel like a million cherries.._ He frowned slightly. _It'd be more if it weren't for the fact that Brad got turned down because of me, but I.._

"Are you going to mope about all day?" Calhoun(AR) asked while resting her chin on her hands, with her elbows firmly planted on table, "I feel bad about doing what I did to Brad too, but he can take care of himself. He's a grown** man**."

"So am I," Felix(AR) said sheepishly, "I'd have been a permanent wreck until the memories were erased if you hadn't picked me though." _I don't think I could just 'get over it'.._

"It's sweet of you think that, but you **would** have eventually been fine.." Calhoun(AR) said, "We're not programmed to be pussy willows, you know? Still better to be picked though, yeah.. I don't even like that I had to choose in the **first** place, not that switching between the two of you was an option I would consider." _You do realize that my original got over the death of Brad and married your counterpart.. I imagine you could have done the same. Maybe even with that waitress for all I know._ "How about we just go stretch our legs? I'm tired of sitting down." _A change of scenery and a change of subject would be nice._

Felix simply nodded in response. _I really should remember not to make her frustrated._

* * *

"Y'know, I really should call to make sure.." Shanks said contemplatively as he eyed the top of the mostly inactive Tortilla Mountain volcano._ A dragon is no laughin' matter.._

"Yes, you **should**," Taffy said teasingly as she slapped his arm with the back of her hand. _We have a high tolerance for it, but pain is still pain. _"We don't need to have Satoru digging through files if our friends **and** **daughters** would happen to game over and it's not safe yet.."

Little Taffyta groaned worriedly and asked, "**We're** staying in the truck until it's dead, right?" She held onto Rancis' jacket tightly while still in his arms. _I want no part of that fight.. Rancis and I are just kids. What could we do in the first place?_

"Of course, darlin'. I promised you, remember?" Shanks said softly with a warm smile, "I won't let anything happen to you." _I just want you to get a good view.._

"So you want me to help you fight it?" Jet asked nervously, "I don't mind so long as I'll regenerate, but I don't have a good enough weapon to fight a dragon with.. Daggers aren't really ideal for that, I'm sure." _And I don't know how effective 'the Force' will be against it._

"You can use one of my spare swords.." Shanks said, "You ain't really gotta worry about knowing how to use it. Just like learnin' how to drive a monster truck, you just gotta hold onto it and use it.. Just be careful with it. They're **sharp**."

"I'll help too in that case, Rancis said nervously, "I need to get experience with this kind of thing eventually.." _I can't let Jet be the only one to help out.._

"You want to show off," Taffyta said teasingly with a laugh as she stroked little Rancis' hair while still holding him in her arms. _I can see right through you._

Shanks scoffed and pulled out his phone to call Satoru. After waiting a moment for Satoru to pick up the phone, Shanks had a brief conversation with him which ended in the safety of the game being affirmed, except that it hasn't been fully tested yet. Only a few simulations had been run on it. "Sounds like we're good to go," he said apprehensively, "Now don't worry. If you don't regenerate right away we can still bring you back.." _It'll just take time._

"I don't really have any intention of dying in the first place," Jet said apprehensively, "But that's reassuring to know."

"How many spare swords do you have?" Crumbelina asked nervously, "I don't want to just sit back and watch while the boys go in harm's way.." _I don't want to just be some useless bystander in all this._

"You trying to put me on the spot with that?" Taffyta asked teasingly as she nudged Crumbelina in the arm, "I don't especially look forward to getting roasted by a dragon, but I can help too, I guess.."

"You think **I** do?" Crumbelina asked with a scoff, "I just rather not stay **behind** all the time when things get dangerous. It was bad enough I couldn't do anything when Jet went to Bad-Anon and Dragon's Lair.." _He nearly died there and I wasn't able to help. I wasn't even allowed to **try**.._

"N-now now.." Rancis said worriedly, "Is it really something to get so frustrated about?" _I can understand, but.._

Jet swallowed hard. _I'm not touching that brewing argument.._

"Wrong answer, Rancis," Taffyta said with a sigh, "Just because we're girls doesn't mean we shouldn't be allowed to help in a fight." _What is the big deal as long as we don't stay dead?_

Crumbelina patted Jet's head. _That's good, Jet. It means you know I'm right._

Rancis furrowed his brow and frowned. _I guess I am being unfair when you put it that way.._ He took a deep, shaky breath and said, "Alright.. Fine, I-I guess.." _I just don't want you getting hurt.._

"Good," Taffyta said dryly. _Like any of us want each other to get hurt._

"So where are you getting all these swords from in the first place?" Jet asked in order to change the subject as Shanks produced four previously unseen katanas. _Does he just carry them around for the heck of it? And why katanas specifically? I'll admit they look cooler, but wouldn't a medieval European sword be more structurally solid?  
_

"They drop from the various beasties.." Shanks said with a shrug, "It don't really make sense, but I ain't gonna complain." _Sometimes I even get cooked food from them. I ain't even gonna** try** to rationalize that._

"Right.." Jet said cautiously as he eyed the volcano as high up as he could.

"So you ready to go at it?" Shanks asked seriously, "Don't worry, it won't be that bad.." _I probably shouldn't have brought them all the way out here.. Well, we'll see how it goes.._

"I'll stay in the truck with the little ones," Taffy said wryly, "Have fun with it." _I don't need them getting too worried._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, it's an issue that needed to be addressed eventually, the girls (well, and Rancis) getting left out of the action.. It's sort of hollow action though, since with them being main characters it's pretty obvious that they're not going to actually die, or at least not stay dead.


	127. The Dragon Descends

"Alright, ya'll," Shanks said with a laugh, "Don't tense up so much. I **can** handle this dragon on my own, but I'd prolly end up wastin' a few revitalizin' chews.. I might have neglected to mention they heal you some, now that I think about it.."

"That's a load off my mind," Taffyta said as the five soon-to-be dragon slayers got out of the monster truck and walked forward about 150 meters. She nervously examined the katana in her hand. It felt extremely out of place for her to be holding such a thing, but at the same time, oddly enough, she knew exactly how to use it, as the programming of Adrenaline Rush took care of that much for her. _So weird.. I still feel like I'd accidentally cut myself with it __though__.._

"You seem quite comfortable," Crumbelina said with a nervous laugh as she nudged Jet's shoulder. She had her katana sheathed at her waist. She didn't want to hold it unless the situation called for its use. _Y__ou handled a sword before?_

"Well I used to be in Star Wars," Jet said sheepishly, "Lightsaber duels were common in our off hours.. I can joust too, not like that does me any good here." He laughed briefly. _I shouldn't laugh about it.. __I'm just lucky that those guys are tolerating m__y existence__._

The dragon roared loudly, practically shaking the heavens as it sensed the group entering its domain.

"There it is," Shanks said excitedly as the dragon slowly flew down from the top of the volcano, "Might wanna spread out a bit." _She's a feisty one._

"You **sure** this is going to be okay, Dad?" Taffyta asked as she worriedly furrowed her brow. _Here it comes.._

"You wanted to help, darlin'," Shanks said with a laugh, "You won't stay dead if ya die, fear not." _I reckon I'm not exactly the best at reassurin' people._

"Well we've never game overed before," Rancis said nervously as the dragon finally landed 50 feet in front of them which caused a large, cracked crater to form under its weight as well as making the dragon slayers stumble slightly. _I guess I'd better __get ready__._ He unsheathed the katana Shanks gave him. _Honestly I don't know if it'll be all that useful against something this tough. It's a junk sword to __Shanks__, right?_

The dragon was as big as a four bedroom house, numerous scars littered its brown scaly hide which hardly concealed its bulging muscles. It eyed the group of five intently, trying to decide its first target.

"It's not so bad," Jet said reassuringly, "Game overing, I mean. Not the **dragon**.." _Gaming over? Honestly I don't know which sounds better._ "It doesn't hurt as much as you would expect. Or maybe that's just because I'm used to it.."

"Not helping," Crumbelina said pointedly after dodge-rolling out of the way of an incoming spray of fiery dragon breath. _When did I learn how to dodge?_

"See? You can do it, Crumbelina," Jet said wryly, "You might want to get your sword out though." _Just stay on your toes and pay close attention._

"Well aren't you just having loads of fun?!" Taffyta asked incredulously. _I don't really think it's wise to get close to this thing._ "And Dad! Why are you just standing there laughing?!" _Sheesh, are you just going to watch?_

"Well I don't want to ruin your first time fighting a dragon," Shanks said with an excited laugh, "Well technically this is my first time fighting a dragon too.." _May as well help out a bit.._ He unsheathed his sword which was far more impressive than theirs. It was a large, nearly black scimitar. Its long, curved, serrated edge looked as though it could cut you if you even just looked at it for too long.

The dragon lunged at Jet, swiping at him with the talons of its massive right, front claw just as he dodged and asked, "Who wants to attack it first?" _Close.._

"I volunteer Jet!" Taffyta said anxiously, "He who agrees, say 'aye'! Aye!" _He's the most experienced here besides Dad.._

"Aye!" Rancis said with a laugh. _Sorry dude._

"Aye!" Crumbelina said sheepishly, "Sorry.." _You shouldn't have asked._

Jet sighed. _Fair enough.._ "Alright, so **I'll** do it then.." he said nervously. He swallowed hard and dodged at an angle towards the dragon just as it unleashed another spray of its fiery breath. He slashed upward at the dragon's torso where it connects to its front right leg before hopping back to where he previously stood.

"That didn't really do anything.." Crumbelina said worriedly. _Not a scratch on it.._

"Well of course it won't **look** like it," Shanks said wryly as he jump-dodged a swipe of the dragon's tail, "Yer usin' weapons from this game." He dodged another tail swipe. "Don't worry, the damage is done." _This is good practice fer later.._

"How do we know how much health it has left or whatever?" Rancis asked curiously. _It__'s not even paying attention to me__._ He dodged out of the way of a claw swipe. _Nevermind. At least it doesn't seem to know who to keep attacking.  
_

"Only the player gets that kind of information," Shanks said casually. _This actually ain't __going __so bad.. _"Just keep attackin'."

* * *

After a few moments of talking, their meals were brought out on food carts.

"So Ralph," Jubileena started wryly, "What's this Tartarga place like, exactly?" _There's pets and fighting apparently, that's about all I know._

Ralph puffed out his cheeks as he let out a breath and said, "How should I put this, I wonder? Well, it's a city built into a wall outlet, the one that Game Central Station used to be plugged into. It's powered directly by the outlet and uses some kind of backup of one of their games. An entire game is there, believe it or not. I'm not sure **how** it works exactly, but it's a pretty cool place."

"So how cool is it?" Vannie asked between bites. _Keep in mind we've never been there._

"Well, let's see," Ralph said while stroking his chin before chuckling sheepishly, "I'm not really the best at relaying it, I guess. But anyways there's the arena fights, which are split a few different ways. There's regular solo and team matches held throughout the day, except when a tournament is going on. There's three different tournaments that the place has. Each a different difficulty level, and each having their own reigning champion designated as an Emperor."

"Take a few bites, Ralph," Vanellope said wryly, "I'll take over for a bit." She winked. "So anyways, the three are separated into things called Palaces, which I find a bit odd, but there's the lowest one, the Demon Palace, which is the tournament Turbo probably participates in. After that there's the middle one, the Holy Palace, then the Sage Palace." _I don't know what he's planning, but he doesn't know what __**we're**__ planning either._

"So what do you win from these tournaments aside from fame?" Garret asked curiously. _Money?_

"Well, I've never actually seen the end of a tournament," Vanellope grumbled and played with her food before taking a bite. _I've only seen a few fights.._

"Sorry, kid," Ralph said with a chuckled, "To answer your question, in addition to a chunk of money.."

"GP's," Vanellope interjected with a laugh while still chewing her bite. _Get it right, Ralphie._

"Right, GP's," Ralph scoffed, "In addition to that, the Emperor is presented with a rare weapon for whatever weapons class they chose to participate as. I don't want to bore you with the details, but there's daggers, swords, stuff like that." _I'd of course get gauntlets, being a brawler type._

"My.. Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Queen Lemma asked worriedly, "What if someone died?" _Will they be alright going there?_

"Nah, they get around that with the armor from that game the place is based on," Ralph said with a smile, "It's hack something, I forget the actual name of the game. But as long as you're wearing that armor within the city, you won't die, you'll just sort of collapse on the ground and pant until you heal enough to stand again." _And in the case of actual death, you just regenerate. _"So it's safe, and unsafe at the same time, basically."

"So aside from the arena, what else is there?" Vincent asked curiously as he lightly dabbed his mouth with a napkin after finishing what was on his plate. _Although the arena does sound interesting._

"Well there's a wealth of different areas you can travel to," Ralph said as he scratched his cheek, "Most of which can be quite aesthetically pleasing, although they tend to be littered with small groups of monsters." _I'd say they're beautiful, but that's not a very manly way to describe it._

"So the places are pretty," Vannie said wryly. _Say it, c'mon._

"Yes, the places are pretty," Ralph said as he rolled his eyes. _You're making it difficult for me again._ "I can't really do it justice by describing it though. But the 'prettiness', since we're calling it that, isn't exactly what you see when you first get there. It's this grungy steampunk-inspired place, if I had to put it to words. Very rundown looking."

"And there's guys roaming around there that have TV screens for faces," Vanellope said wryly. _Even a dog thing._ "Eat, Ralph. Eat." She laughed. _I can't really blame him for neglecting his food when he has to constantly explain stuff._

"Alright, President Fart Feathers. I'm eating, see?" Ralph took a rather **large** bite. _I'm glad I have a big mouth._

"Good, Ralph," Vannie scoffed, "Don't forget to wash it down."

Ralph gave her her a playfully annoyed smile and said, "Yes, **dear**." He lifted his glass and began taking a sip.

Vannie smirked at him. _You're so getting laid tonight._

Ralph nearly choked on his drink and quickly covered his nose and mouth. _That's inappropriate, Princess._ He tried his hardest to stifle his laughter as a few drops of his drink spilled onto his plate, with most of it landing on his shirt.

"Are you okay, Ralph?" Vannie asked in a worried tone as she rubbed his back, "Did it go down the wrong pipe?" She grinned. _You set yourself up for that._

"Something like that," Ralph said with a somewhat raspy voice while still stifling a laugh, "I'll be fine, just give me a minute."

"Don't worry, he pulls stuff like this all the time," Calhoun said wryly. _Bit off more than he can chew with that one._

"All in a day's work," Ralph scoffed and sniffed. _My nose is still burning. You're getting it later._

Vannie grinned devilishly._ I certainly hope so._ "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up," she said wryly as she stood up and pulled on his arm until he reluctantly did the same. She gave a wink to Calhoun before the two left the room. _She'll help me out, I hope._

"But c-" Felix said before Calhoun covered his mouth. _Don't make me lick your hand, Tammy._

"Take your time," Calhoun said wryly. _She wants to be alone with him, __Felix. So hush__ about the fact that he can use magic to clean himself up._

Felix crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out on her hand. _You can move your hand, Tammy. I get it already._

Calhoun wiped her hand on Felix's shirt._ Very funny._

Vanellope scoffed._ Any excuse to be alone with him. I'll allow it._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey, cool, a chapter!

So as some of you know already, my interest in Felix/Calhoun, Leon/Minty, Garret/Jubileena, and Felix(AR)/Calhoun(AR) has dwindled to the point where I just don't feel like writing about them anymore unless they're in a scene with the other main characters. I'll still make an effort to include them in the story from this point onward, but they're just not going to have as much focus as they did before, sorry.

**That** said, I would like to hear your thoughts on what **you** would like to see from this story specifically. I write to please you guys as well as myself, and it's hard to know what you guys want when I never hear from you :p.

This story isn't exactly on hiatus anymore, though I'll be spending some time improving older chapters so updates may be a little slower.

I've written a oneshot about Turbo moving to Tartarga named 'Outlet City Tartarga', if anyone is interested in reading it. And if you're wondering when it takes place, it's right after the game is reset at the end of the movie.


	128. Dragon Slayers

After a few moments the racers had finally found their courage and were attacking more frequently and more daringly.

"That's it," Shanks said with a laugh, "Just like that, darlin'." _Nice dodge there._

Taffyta jumped to the left, closer to Rancis as the dragon swiped at her twice. Once with each of its massive front claws. "Easy for you to say, Dad!" she said exhaustedly, yet a smile still played on her lips, "You haven't even attacked it once!" _I've hit it like five or six times!_

"You want me to get in on yer first dragon kill?" Shanks asked wryly, "After you got its attack pattern down and everything?" _Ya'll haven't even gotten hit once yet. I'm not even needed here._

"I just wish we knew how much health it had left," Crumbelina said exhaustedly, "Dodging is easy enough, I guess, but-" She shrieked as the dragon swiped at her with its tail, knocking her off her feet. _A little help?!_

Jet rolled to the side towards her and lightly pushed her out of the way of a swipe of the dragon's right claw, though he took the hit in the process. Since none of them were wearing any of Adrenaline Rush's armor he took the damage directly, earning himself a deep set of three claw marks down his chest, thankfully killing him almost instantly. He regenerated three feet away, good as new.

Jet laughed nervously and scratched his head before stating the obvious, "I'm alive.." _It hurt pretty bad, t__hough__.._

"Sorry!" Crumbelina said frantically. _I'll make it up to you tonight, okay?_

"Well at least we know death here isn't permanent," Rancis said in an apologetic tone. _That really had to hurt._

Several minutes of the racers carefully distracting the dragon and getting in a few good hits later, Shanks decided to attack a few times which ended the dragon like it was nothing. Mostly because it was already nearly dead from the others softening it up.

"Oh sure, **now** you help, kill stealer!" Taffyta yelled wryly, "I had a feeling you'd do that!" She shook her head disapprovingly.

"Well ya'll were tired," Shanks said wryly, "Ain't nothin' wrong with helpin' finish it off.. Want some revitalizin' chews to help ya recover?" _Did they make good use of 'em last night, I wonder?_

"Yes, please," Rancis said eagerly.

"Don't you dare, Rancis," Taffyta said with an incredulous laugh, "I'm not going through that again already." _I'd like to get some __**actual**__ sleep._

"You sure?" Rancis asked wryly. _You know it was great.._

"I'm positive," Taffyta said sheepishly as she looked away from him, towards the fallen dragon. _I told you it's not going to be an every day thing. __And don't keep bringing it up like this._

Rancis pouted exaggeratedly and said, "Alright, fair enough." _Just let me know when._ He beamed and shook his head.

Shanks chuckled to himself knowingly. _You give up too easily, Rancis. Would this make me a bad father, I wonder? _"How about you two?" he asked as he grinned at Jet and Crumbelina.

"Oh," Jet said with a nervous laugh, "I don't know.." _After hearing from them.._

"Aw, why not?" Crumbelina asked with a smirk, "You look exhausted, Jet." _I want to try it for myself. Besides, I kind of got you killed.._

"You sure about that Crumbelina?" Taffyta warned, "You might regret it later.." _I can't believe I'm hearing this from Crumbelina of all people._

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Rancis said pointedly before stifling a laugh, "You didn't complain that much last night." _I seem to recall you being quite eager for round two._

"I c-" Taffyta started before turning bright red, grumbling to herself and storming off to the truck. _That's not fair. Y__ou putting me on the spot like that._

Rancis chuckled incredulously and pleadingly said, "Taffyta, don't go!" before running back to the truck as well. _I was just teasing you._

Shanks handed them each a revitalizing chew and said, "Have fun with 'em." He scoffed with a knowing smirk before turning his attention back at the dragon. He took a rather large, reinforced bag out of his backpack and took a knife out. He performed a motion near the dragon that could only be described as 'game-like' and the dragon suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a rather dangerous-looking and long red sword. "Dibs on the sword.. I'll let you guys split the cherries I get from the meat if ya want since ya'll did most of the work." _I'll give Taffyta my 'old' sword. I'm sure she'll appreciate it._

"That sounds reasonable, I suppose," Jet scoffed, "So how much can we expect?" _I've never killed a monster in this game before, so I have no idea how much an S-ranked one would be worth._

"Well, considerin' these things are so rare, you can **expect** 'em to be pricey," Shanks said wryly as he pulled out his phone and navigated to his price checker, "Alright, so dragon meat would be 250,000 cherries. Split four ways that's.. 62,500 each." _It's a considerable amount._

Crumbelina whistled and said, "That's a lot.. You sure that's alright?" _We could be millionaires here before you know it.._

"Ah, don't worry about it," Shanks said dismissively as he put his phone away, "That's what I'm here for.. C'mon, no sense walkin' the rest of the way. This place's guardian is down so it's smooth sailin' enough to go by truck."

* * *

"I'm impressed," Taffy said wryly as Taffyta returned to the truck and hopped in the back despite Rancis' pleas, "Something wrong?" _She looks a little upset._

Taffyta shook her head in annoyance and said, "Men.." _I can't believe he said all that._

Taffy laughed and said, "Okay, I'll leave it to you then." _If she wanted me to know she'd tell me._

Rancis sighed as he got in the back of the truck. _I'm sorry, Taffyta. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. It just happened!_

Taffyta rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she leaned against the inner side of the monster truck's bed. _The least you could do is actually say it out loud so that they know you did something wrong._

"So what kind of insensitive thing did he say?" little Rancis asked while casting an accusatory look over to his older counterpart. _It's his fault for sure._

"Don't worry about what I said Rancis," Rancis said while rolling his eyes, "Just rest assured that it's my fault and that I'm sorry that I said it." _Better?_

Taffyta scoffed. _Only slightly._

Jet and Crumbelina returned somewhat red-faced, thinking about the whole 'revitalizing chews' conversation. They tentatively got into the bed of the truck, unsure if they should say anything.

Jet cleared his throat as Shanks got into the driver's seat and took off toward the now-unguarded Tortilla Volcano. "So we've got a pretty good reward for helping out.." he said somewhat uncomfortably. _Should I keep quiet right now?_

"That's right," Shanks said warmly, "Since you guys helped out with the dragon, ya'll get the cherries."

Taffyta rolled her eyes and asked, "How much?" _I sure hope it's a lot after all that crap._

"We're splitting it four ways," Crumbelina said sheepishly, "We each get 62,500." _I think that's how much he said._

"Nice," Rancis beamed before looking over at Taffyta apologetically. She was sitting across from him, almost unwilling to look him in the eye. _I accepted the blame, didn't I? How long are you going to stay mad at me?_

"You gotta try harder than that, Rancis," little Taffyta said pointedly from inside the truck, "I don't know what you said, but she's obviously still mad at you." She narrowed her eyes at little Rancis. _It's not even his fault so why am I getting mad at __**him**__?_

"Well don't look at me," little Rancis said nervously, "I don't even know what it's about." _You better make this right, Rancis.. _He narrowed his eyes at his counterpart.

"Yeah, it was kinda my fault too," Shanks said sheepishly, "I shouldn't have egged him on. Sorry, darlin'."

"Uh huh," Taffyta said with a sigh. _Everybody knows, Rancis. See what you did?_

Rancis frowned and crossed his arms. _I __**am**__ sorry, Taffyta. I just got excited. __But y__our dad __**had**__ to have known already, and I'm pretty sure Crumbelina and Jet knew already too. There's nothing wrong with __making a few inappropriate jokes__, is there?_

Taffyta wiped her eyes which had watered just slightly. _Just don't joke about it or bring it up __like that again__._

* * *

"They're not stupid, Vannie," Ralph said while rolling his eyes as she led him to a bathroom then closed and locked the door.

"They won't say anything," Vannie said wryly, "I just want a little bit more time alone, is that so bad?" _Come on, do your magic clean-up spell. I don't want to get wet until later._

"For a princess you've sure got a wealth of inappropriate thoughts," Ralph said chidingly as he snapped his fingers to prompt a small flurry of magic sparkles to literally dry and erase the light purple stain on his white tank top. _You made me choke a while ago._

"Oh, like you don't have those thoughts swimming around up there, I see the way you've been eyeing me," Vannie said with a knowing smirk as she pressed the side of her head into his chest and hugged him as tightly as she could, "Mmm.. I've decided. Tomorrow we should go on a date, just the two of us. Vanellope will understand. And she's got plenty of friends to keep her company anyways." _I just want you to myself for a day._

"I don't think you should decide that by yourself," Ralph said with a smirk as he wrapped one of his massive hands around her back and leaned down to kiss her neck. _It's a shame we can't get an 'early start'._

Vannie laughed and said, "She's not so innocent herself, Ralph. She knows that we adults have needs." _If we got an 'early start' I would we walking funny for the rest of the day. It would be too obvious._

"Somehow I don't doubt that," Ralph scoffed, "Come on, any longer than this and it'll be more suspicious than it already is." _As much as I enjoyed you helping me 'clean up'._

Vannie sighed and said, "Fine, just wet your shirt under the sink or something so it at least **looks** like we scrubbed that stain out." _Attention to detail._

Ralph rolled his eyes and turned the faucet on then splashed the water in her face before chuckling to himself. _Looks like you got wet a lot earlier than you expected._

Vannie's jaw dropped as she was assaulted with the torrent of water from Ralph's massive hands. "Now that was uncalled for," she said with a playfully annoyed smirk, "You better clean up this mess!" She filled her hands with water under the faucet and threw the water at him again and again until she felt she evened the score. _There._

Ralph wiped his face with a nearby towel and nodded. _Any more than this and I might not be able to hold back until tonight. That wet look.. _He chuckled to himself while shaking his head.

"Good," Vannie scoffed, "Now clean up this mess and wet your shirt, **slightly**." _We'll have lots of fun tonight, don't worry. _"Then we can go back."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I feel bad for Taffyta, being put on the spot like that. That's a bad Rancis.

I have written two oneshots, each possibly being the next story I work on. If you'd like, I would appreciate it if you checked it out and voted on which you prefer to see be written next. See below for their titles.

Current profile poll: After reading the two oneshots 'Sugar Rush: Version 2' and 'Wrecking Man', which do you want to see continued more?


	129. Vincent and Ralph's Heart-to-Heart

"I can't believe you two actually ate them," Taffyta grumbled with her arms crossed as they carefully climbed the thick tortilla chips that made up the volcano. _Revitalizing chews are nothing to scoff at._

"I said I'm sorry, Taffyta!" Rancis said exhaustedly. _Please don't stay mad at me.._

"Come on, Taffyta," Jet said warmly, "He's sorry.." _He was just joking around._ "And those things are awesome.." _Don't you agree Crumbelina?_

Crumbelina beamed sheepishly. _Yeah._

"I know.." Taffyta said with a sigh. Now he's ganging up on me. _It's not like I want to be mad._

Rancis hugged her once he could be sure the patch of volcano they were standing on was stable. _I'll make it up to you. Whatever you want.._

Taffyta eased into his hug. _Don't worry about it. Just don't do that again.._

"So we're going all the way up?" little Taffyta asked while being held by her mother. She held onto her shoulder for stability, "Should I get down? I don't want to make us fall.." _As much as I like her holding me.._

Little Rancis smiled up at her briefly before making sure he wouldn't trip. _I'm amazed how much she's changed just by having parents around. I wish I could've made her this happy.._

"That's probably a good idea," Taffy said as she carefully let little Taffyta down. _My arms were getting a little tired too. __She's such a sweetheart.._

"Won't take long to reach the top," Shanks said as he turned to make sure everyone was accounted for, "Yer all doin' great!" _Best partners I've ever had. Only ones, really.._

"Well we do have roots in a platforming game," little Taffyta beamed. _I can still go faster.._

It wasn't long before they reached the top of the volcano. It was coated with a thick, hard layer of soaked, then dried up, broken tortilla chips where three giant dragon eggs were left without a mother.

"So do even dragon eggs need one of those bags?" Crumbelina asked. _It seems like these bags are quite the limitation.. __Probably to prevent people from getting too many cherries too fast.._

"Naw," Shanks said wryly, "These are fine since what ya eat is on the inside of the shell." How they managed to fit in Shanks', Taffyta's, and Jet's backpacks remained a mystery.

"So are these tortilla chips worth taking?" Jet asked, "I'd like to get as many cherries as possible." _Leon wants a monster truck bad, and I want some left over for better equipment. This sword is pretty awesome even if it isn't high leveled though. I__'m sure it'd__ still cut just as good in another game should I need it._

"Yeah, they're good," Shanks said with a smile and a nod. _Didn't even cross my mind though._

* * *

"Welcome back," Calhoun said wryly, "Got that stain out, I see.." _As if he couldn't have done that with the snap of his fingers._

"Yeah," Ralph said sheepishly as he and Vannie sat back down. _She knows too much._

"We were just talking about that emperor title," Vanellope(AR) said excitedly as she leaned up over the table. _I want him to be an emperor now! That'd be so awesome!_

"No leaning on the table, dear," Penelope chided sweetly as she tapped the table in front of her. _Manners._

"Sorry," Vanellope(AR) said sheepishly as she sat back down.

"That's right, brother," Felix said with a grin, "What other sorts of perks come with that? You and Vanellope are the only ones here that used to go there." _I suppose that was my fault._

"Well like I said," Ralph said with a sigh, "I don't know it all.. But there's a guild hall that only emperors and ex-emperor's can go into. It's called Icolo. That's the extent of my knowledge on it."

"So what other kinds of guilds are there besides that Icolo place?" Rio asked curiously.

"The only two I remember are Canard and Kestrel," Ralph said with a shrug, "And that's just the names."

"So would you guys like to go on a tour of the rest of the castle?" Queen Lemma asked warmly.

"Oh, that sounds fun," Jubileena said warmly, "I haven't really even been in the castle in Sugar Rush." She looked at Garret somewhat sheepishly. _Not many of us have._

"Me neither," Garret said with a chuckle. _So that makes two of us._

"Well come on, then," Queen Lemma said warmly as she got somewhat excited.

"Ralph, could I have a moment?" Vincent asked softly as the group stood up. _In private, obviously.._

"Sure.." Ralph said with a knowing glance at Vannie. _It's about us, whatever it is.._

"I'm coming too then," Vannie said with a smirk as she narrowed her eyes at Vincent. _You'd better not be mean to him._

Vincent sighed and led the couple and Penelope outside to the front of the castle. _This will be a lot harder with her here. __Honey, I'm counting on you to keep Vannie busy in a bit.._

"So what did you want to talk about?" Vannie asked curiously as she crossed her arms.

Vincent sighed softly through his nose. His eyes were downcast as he said, "Penelope and I were talking earlier and I just.. I just wanted to apologize." There was a humbleness to his words that was completely foreign to him and he couldn't help but gesture slowly with his hands as he spoke. "I'm not really good with this sort of thing.."

"Don't worry about it, Vincent," Ralph said with a grin, "Even I thought it was weird at first.."

"Could I maybe talk to you in a little more private?" Vincent asked softly, "There was something I wanted to discuss between just the two of us.."

"It's okay, Vannie," Penelope said with a reassuring smile as she gave her daughter a hug from the side, "Let them have their little talk." _Good luck, Vincent. Remember to be polite about it._

Vincent smiled briefly._ I know.._

Vannie hugged Penelope back tightly. "What's it about?" she asked while pouting slightly as the two men walked off to the pond of earl grey tea that Vincent always went to in order to calm his nerves. _Should I be worried?_

"It's nothing to worry about," Penelope beamed, "It's just something that the two need to settle. Don't go pushing Ralph to tell you about it either." _It needs to be a surprise._

"I don't like being left in the dark about stuff," Vannie said as she pouted further. _Why not?_

"Oh, who does?" Penelope asked with a laugh, "Just rest assured that it's nothing bad, alright?"

"Can you at least give me a hint?" Vannie asked sheepishly. _Come on.. At least I can be sure it's nothing bad, but still._

"I don't know~," Penelope said wryly, "It's hard to keep it a secret if I give out hints."

"So it's some kind of surprise for me?" Vannie beamed sheepishly. _I want to know what it is more now in that case.._

"Yes, it's some kind of surprise for you," Penelope beamed just as sheepishly, "But that's all you're getting out of us, got it?"

"Well how long do I have to wait?" Vannie asked with a playfully annoyed smile as she crossed her arms again. _Should I try to pry it from Ralph?_

"That depends on Ralph," Penelope beamed with a shrug, "We would have preferred not to tip you off at all.. Now you gotta wait knowing that there's something to wait for." _You dug yourself a hole._

"Well isn't that just wonderful?" Vannie asked as she puffed out her cheeks in playful annoyance.

"You and your curiosity did you in," Penelope beamed.

* * *

"So what's this really about?" Ralph asked worriedly. _Judging by_ _Penelope's mood, there at least seems to be nothing wrong.._

"Ralph.." Vincent said with a sigh as he scratched his head, "This is a bit of an awkward subject so forgive me if I'm a little all over the place with it.." _How do I say this?_

"Okay.." Ralph said incredulously while cocking a brow. _What's this about?_

Vincent paced two steps and said, "Here's the thing.. Penelope and I would like for you two to get married. There's no reason to put it off for too much longer judging by everything you've been through together.." _Right?_

Ralph's heart leapt into his throat, and he suddenly felt as though he was hit with two tons of bricks. _Married.._

Vincent stifled a laugh and said, "Well that's not to say that you should do so immediately. We're thinking along the lines of a couple months from now. That way we have plenty of time to prepare.."

"Prepare.." Ralph said curiously. _I don't know if she woul__d__ even want to get married though.. __I mean sure, she __**probably**__ wants to, but there's always the chance she doesn't.._

"Keep it a secret, by the way," Vincent said pointedly, "What I mean by prepare is.. Well, we want this to be the best possible occasion for her. For both of you, really.."

"So what exactly would I be preparing then?" Ralph asked as he furrowed his brow. _Not really sure what goes into planning a wedding.. __I haven't been to one since Felix and Calhoun's and that was before our reset. The details on it are still a little fuzzy._

"Well one of the most important things will of course be the ring," Vincent said as he glanced around to make sure Vannie wasn't around, "We don't want it to be just any old ring you can get in two seconds flat. Now, I would recommend a ring from this game, personally.. But if you can find a better one somewhere else, then that would be.. well, better.." _A better ring wouldn't be worse. So redundant.._

Ralph nodded. _A ring is sort of obvious. Felix and Calhoun just got two from Sonic's game __if I recall correctly__, but I can see a better one being.. better. Come to think of it, Felix's ring probably got reset along with the rest of him.._

Vincent nodded and said, "Now, after **that**. Or before, technically.. We would like for you to personally catch one of every S-rank ingredient for the dinner during which you will propose to her. You can bring her along for that so long as you keep the reason behind not selling the ingredients a secret. We'll even accompany you to help things along if you'd like."

"I'd appreciate that.. So would she.." Ralph said blankly before a smile crept on his face, "Listen, you're gonna have to remind me about some of this stuff later, because this is a lot to take in.." _How am I going to keep this a secret from her? It's easy enough to not think at her, but it __still __might slip.._

Vincent chuckled warmly and said, "Yeah, I know.. And I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, it's just.. You know, it was awkward and I'm not used to dealing with that sort of thing. I overreacted.."

"I get like that too, don't worry about it.." Ralph said with a chuckle, "So we've discussed the ring and the dinner I propose during. Is there anything else?" _It's nice to have him on my side.. We may be getting a little ahead of ourselves here talking about an actual wedding, but whatever.  
_

"Well for the actual ceremony we would need a cake and the like," Vincent said, "We've got a good selection of chefs here, but if there's anyone you know that's especially good at that sort of thing it would be great if they could lend a hand. Come to think of it that goes for your dinner too. Of course this is all dependent on Vannie as well. She may want to change a few things." _There's no way in hell she'd say no, I can say that much for sure. So it's safe to plan a little further ahead._

"Well if it's a cake, it's got to be Mary from my game," Ralph beamed knowingly, "She's been cooking pies and making cakes for over 30 years now. And Spicy Jill from Sugar Rush 2 is an amazing chef, so I'm sure that she would be a good pick to cook.." _Spicy Jill from Sugar Rush could be a big help too, probably._

"That sounds good," Vincent beamed, "So now that we've got that out of the way, I'm sure you've got an idea for the best man. The rest we can discuss the closer we get to the actual event. There's plenty of time between then and now, so don't worry too much."

"It's going to be a bit difficult to keep this a secret, you know?" Ralph said with a sheepish smile. _So what? Two months or so from now? That's around when I was planning this for anyways. Vannie really should be around to plan for the wedding though so it's good that we're stopping here.  
_

"I can about imagine," Vincent scoffed, "Especially if you've already.." He cleared his throat. "Well, you know.." _If you two have made love already. Pretty hard to keep a secret from somebody that can literally read your mind.._

"Yeah.." Ralph said nervously as he rubbed the base of his neck, "We did.." _Well that's embarrassing.._

Vincent nodded. "Well, all the more reason to get married then," he scoffed. _I figured as much._

"Yeah.." Ralph said with a nervous chuckle. _At least he's not freaking out that we didn't wait until marriage like King Candy sort of did.. And even then King Candy probably doesn't know for sure we've even had sex..  
_

* * *

**Author's Note:** So just a heads up that things will indeed be heading for a close for some pairings coming up. Not any time soon, mind you. But possibly before chapter 200. Then again there's still plenty of pairings with loose ends to tie up, so it may very well break 200 chapters. We'll find out the closer we get to that time.

I have written two oneshots, each possibly being the next story I work on. If you'd like, I would appreciate it if you checked it out and voted on which you prefer to see be written next. See below for their titles.

Current profile poll: After reading the two oneshots 'Sugar Rush: Version 2' and 'Wrecking Man', which do you want to see continued more?


	130. Some Touring

"So what do you think Vincent wanted to talk to Ralph about?" Vanellope asked Felix, as he was the easiest to make eye contact with. They were walking down one of the many marble floored hallways of the castle. The walls were painted a soft yellow.

"We can always ask him when he gets back," Felix said with a grin. _It's got me curious too._

"I know the reason," Rio beamed sheepishly, "I'm not telling though. Penelope and Vincent want it to be a secret." _I wish I could tell them. They probably couldn't keep it a secret though, at least not all of them._

"Is it a **big** secret?" Vanellope(AR) asked excitedly. _I like secrets!_

"Uh huh," Rio beamed. _She definitely couldn't keep it a secret._

"Shush now," Queen Lemma said warmly, "It's a secret for a reason." She giggled softly to herself. _I look forward to that day._

"So where are we headed next?" Candice asked sheepishly. _We haven't really seen anything mind blowing yet._

"You'll see," Queen Lemma said warmly, "We're almost there." She led them into a room a short distance away and ushered them inside. "This is Penelope's art gallery." _She makes me so proud._

The walls of the room they were led inside were painted off-white, mainly to prevent any colors from distracting Penelope while she painted. The walls were almost completely covered with paintings of varying sizes, many of which were landscapes of Sugar Rush.

"Woah!" Vanellope beamed excitedly, "She did all this?!" She glitched in front of a large painting directly across from the doorway after looking around. It was a painting of Vincent holding a baby Vanellope in his arms with Queen Lemma warmly holding her hands out as if to say, 'I call next.' She chuckled to herself before moving on to several landscape paintings of various places in Sugar Rush that were all similarly impressive in regards to details. _Penelope i__s amazing.._

"She's quite skilled, huh?" Ralph(AR) asked with a smirk as he looked down at Vanellope who was brimming with neatly contained excitement. _Her skill is almost too real for words._

"You can say that again," Vanellope beamed as she eyed a painting of Diet Cola Mountain, "So were these all supposed to have been painted after I was born?"

"That's right," Queen Lemma beamed warmly, "Since I don't leave the kingdom often, and we would rarely get to see each other once the three of you moved away, she painted these for me.. Or so the story goes." She warmly breathed deeply through her nose and fought the urge to cry she suddenly felt. _Nope, not gonna do it.._

"What's this covered one?" Candice asked curiously as she made her way to an easel tucked away in a corner with a white cloth draped over it. There was the occasional splash of paint on the cloth in various greens, reds and browns.

Under the easel was an unfolded newspaper from the game Paperboy. It just so happened to show a picture of Calhoun talking to Eliza, one of the angel kids from the game Angel Kids.

"That's an unfinished painting she started on this morning," Queen Lemma beamed warmly, "No peeking."

* * *

"You do realize we're getting ahead of ourselves by planning **anything** for the actual wedding, right?" Ralph asked sheepishly, "I'd rather not get my hopes up too high by having this stuff all planned out in case she says no. Plus she'd want a hand in some of that too." _It's all well and good to plan for me proposing though, that much makes sense to do right away. I don't know if I should write a little speech or just wing it. I'd probably mess up on a speech if I wrote anything out.. Well, I'd mess up either way. Hmm.._

"She's **not** gonna say no, Ralph," Vincent said pointedly as he rolled his eyes, "But yes, we may have discussed a bit further ahead than we should have." _I just want it to be perfect for her._

"Right.. So should we head back?" Ralph asked curiously as he crossed his arms, "I'm sure Vannie is tired of waiting on us." _It could be good to make her wait sometimes though..__ So my main concerns are getting a ring first.. An exceptional one at that. And the 'epic meal ingredients' or whatever.. I'll worry about the rest later._

"..Good idea," Vincent scoffed as the two went back to the front of the castle where Penelope was keeping Vannie busy with idle conversation, mostly about Ralph.

"Had fun with your little chat?" Vannie beamed with an annoyed smile. _C'mon, what are you planning?_

"Yep," Ralph said wryly, "But I'm not about to tell you what it was about." _Sorry, you'll just have to wait._

Vannie groaned and sighed, "Fine.. But the surprise had better be worth the wait, whatever it is."

"It will be," Penelope beamed. _Sorry, Vincent._ _I couldn't help but __at least __tell her __there's__ a surprise __in store for her__.._

"I wonder what they've been shown on the tour so far," Vincent mused aloud as they went back inside. _Don't worry about it, honey. It's better that she knows there's a surprise __in store for her __rather than __her __thinking __there's something wrong__._

* * *

After climbing down from the volcano with their bounty, Shanks led the racers around to a few other areas. Nothing dangerous, however. He figured that a dragon was enough danger for one day.

First on their next set of destinations was the Hog Head Hollow, which was a small valley to the south, past Ramen Lake. The ground and trees in the Hog Head Hollow were all made of 'hog head cheese'. There were also giant 'boudin balls' half buried in the ground which one could assume were meant to resemble giant boulders. The leaves of the trees were pork rinds.

"This place kind of stinks," Rancis groaned. _This is the place I didn't want to come to most.._

"I agree," little Rancis groaned. _Stinks bad.._

"The smell ain't so bad once ya get used to it," Shanks scoffed playfully as he cut a greasy-looking chunk out of a tree of hog head cheese with his knife and put it on a small, round butter cracker. "Five thousand cherries to whoever tries it."

"Do it, Rancis," Taffyta said with a playfully annoyed smile as she nudged him forward. _You owe me, remember?_

Rancis pouted back in her direction before sighing and reluctantly extending his hand to accept the offensive-looking snack. Like pulling off a band-aid, he quickly shoved the small cracker and thick chunk of hog head cheese into his mouth and forced himself to chew it. He lightly gagged, not expecting.. **that**.

"Is it that bad?" little Rancis grimaced as his counterpart finally managed to swallow.

Taffyta smirked and crossed her arms. _Poor baby.. You're such a drama queen._

"It tastes like really greasy pork sausage, I guess.." Rancis said as he furrowed his brow. _I'd transmit this taste __directly to your brain__, Taffyta, __b__ut I doubt you'd appreciate that very much._ "It's not as disgusting as I thought it'd be, but I still don't care for it."

Jet and Crumbelina stifled sympathetic laughs as Rancis recounted his experience.

Shanks smacked his lips in annoyance and sighed, "Ain't nothin' wrong with how it tastes.. Ya just ain't had enough, I think."

"Oh, no no no no no," Rancis laughed nervously as he backed away from the next chunk Shanks sliced off the tree, much like a cat backs away from something it finds truly offensive. _Never again._

* * *

Next on Shanks' list of destinations was the Chili Con Carne Creek not far to the west of the Hog Head Hollow. Chili Con Carne Creek, as one would suspect is a Creek containing chili con carne. There were bell pepper bowls growing on long reeds alongside spoons made of green onions at the edge of the creek on all sides. Also along the sides of the creek were scoop-shaped corn chips.

"Perhaps this is closer to yer style?" Shanks asked with a hopeful smile, "It's chili, c'mon!" _Ya gotta like chili!_

Jet laughed, "So wait, bowls and spoons are growing out of the creek?" _These bowls are.. bell peppers? That's cool._

"It **i****s** a bit convenient, isn't it?" Taffy asked wryly, "Don't mind it so much. It's magic, remember?"

"Right," Jet said wryly, "A wizard did it.."

"Which 'wizard' do we thank for this world of fine cuisine?" Crumbelina asked wryly.

"Well, he's not around anymore unfortunately," Shanks sighed, "So it's a bit late to be thankin' him. But he'd appreciate the sentiment." _He's left behind him one heck of a legacy, that's for sure._

"So why isn't he around anymore?" little Taffyta asked confusedly, "Couldn't he just be 'fake dead', living somewhere the player won't find him? Seems like a cool person to keep around to me.." _Why kill someone like that off?_

"Well, he's not **dead**," Shanks chuckled, "I should'a been more specific. He had a son and moved to Sugar Rush about 40 years ago."

"We have someone like that in our game?" Crumbelina asked confusedly. _Although I guess in theory he could have transformed our world into one of candy when he moved there? We aren't exactly programmed with that kind of knowledge..  
_

Rancis shrugged as he picked a bell pepper bowl and a green onion spoon then proceeded to fix himself some chili._ This stuff looks good. I wonder if that guy did the same with our country.._

"Maybe," Shanks shrugged, "He excels at keeping a low profile, so he very well might." _He's a hide and seek champion._

"See, now **this** is good," Rancis beamed wryly through a bite of chili. _Could maybe use some cornbread as a side dish though._

"**How** can you be hungry again already?" Taffyta scoffed as an annoyed smile played on her lips. _Seriously!_

"Did you forget that he's Captain Starvation?" Jet asked wryly. _Remember that?_

Crumbelina burst out laughing, "Oh, Konami! I completely forgot about that.." _Oops, that was a bit loud.._

"You okay there, Crumbelina?" Rancis asked wryly through a mouthful as he cocked a brow. _I'll admit it's funny, but that reaction is hilarious._

Crumbelina chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry.. I'm fine.." _I can't keep calm though.._

Jet beamed, "She can't help it, she's hopped up on a revitalizing chew, remember?" _You can't hold in all that energy, hmm?_

"You seem to be coping just fine," Taffyta scoffed. _Don't remind me about those things.._

"I won't explode just yet," Jet shrugged playfully._ I'm gonna do that later when Crumbelina and I get home._

"Right.." Taffyta scoffed sheepishly as she turned away to watch Rancis down bite after bite of chili. _I swear to Konami Jet says stuff like that in front of me on purpose._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hog head cheese is essentially a meat jelly made with the flesh of a hog's head. 'Boudin blanc' is a white sausage made of pork without the blood. Pork liver and heart meat are typically included. In Cajun versions, the sausage is made from a pork rice dressing (much like dirty rice), which is stuffed into pork casings. Boudin balls are a cajun variation of 'boudin blanc', where instead of being stuffed into pork casings, it is balled up, battered, and deep fried.

I wiki'd an explanation for what they are because I don't actually eat it, but a friend of mine does and I wanted to introduce as much food variety as possible in Adrenaline Rush.

Oh, and by now it's sort of a running thing that just about whatever Queen Lemma does, she does warmly. Not exactly sure how it came to that, but in case you're wondering why she's always doing something warmly, that's why.

An update on my revising progress, I've finished revising up to chapter 13. I'm doing this mostly to iron out any contradictions I can find. A story this long is bound to have a few. I'm also simply improving older scenes where I can.


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